Posted on 12/05/2011 8:42:02 PM PST by traumer
A U.S. super-secret spy plane believed to be in Iranian possession could be a major loss for the U.S. military -- and a major gain for Iran.
According to a senior U.S. military source with intimate knowledge of the Sentinel drone, the aircraft likely "wandered" into Iranian air space after losing contact with its handlers and is presumed to be intact since it is programmed to fly level and find a place to land, rather than crashing.
"This is a big prize in terms of technology," a senior U.S. military source told Fox News. The spy plane uses the same stealth technology as the drone used to monitor the compound during the raid that killed Usama bin Laden, U.S. military sources told Fox News on Monday. Military sources confirmed that the Iranians have the RQ-170 drone, which is so advanced that the U.S. Air Force has not distributed even a photo of it. However, they did not say that the Iranians shot down the spy plane, as was reported by Iran's official IRNA news agency.
IRNA quoted an unidentified Iranian military official saying Sunday that the spy plane was shot down by Iran's armed forces and suffered minor damage.. The official also warned of strong and crushing response to any violations of the country's airspace by American drone aircraft.
Earlier, the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan issued a statement saying the aircraft may have been a drone that operators lost contact with last week while it was flying a mission over neighboring western Afghanistan. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the classified nature of the incident, said the U.S. had "absolutely no indication" that the drone was shot down.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Well, at least you din’t lose an ear! Or didja?
Nope.
Thank God I was in Japan, and nobody ripped me off or killed me.
Don’t forget the cruise missile he had flown into the Chinese embassy of the stealth plane that crashed into Serbia.
Everything about 0bama is SINISTER. He’s simply Evil to the core.
I bought it years ago when it became legal in the Czech Republic, and smuggled it into the US (it was and still may be illegal to import it.) It didn’t compel me to cut off my ears. But then, the Absinthe of today is not the same as it was 100 years ago.
Is the RQ-170 drone an autonomous system?
Making independent decisions?
Perhaps the drone is virally infected and accomplished its mission to “fall” into Iranian hands. Why would a US military source be crowing about what a prize it was? Rather than self distruct, would it be better to spread digital contagion to anyone foolish enough to hack it?
I hope this one is easier to land than the predator series.
If the Iranians have it, I hope it crashed pretty damned good.
“a very small detonator “
That’s like giving an airline pilot a big detonator in case he has to destroy the plane.
Computer command to drone: “engine stop. Point front of craft toward the center of the earth. Maintain.”
The real stuff is still illegal here.
I thought it looked better than the stuff with rattle snakes and scorpions in it, that they were selling that night, and I said “What the hell....why not”?
Why not indeed!
*******BREAKING NEWS*********
Dateline Iran..... Thousands of Zombies have been sighted near the landing location of lost drone. Iranians suspect some type of virus.
Keeps the pressure on 'em and has the potential to distribute false intelligence.
It may also be tracked...looking for references to it in intelligence networks...to determine WHERE the decision makers are.
It would be interesting to know just who was flying the drone. Maybe there was a traitor in our midst, aiding the enemy.
the flight control computers for these drones .... probably contain chips made in China (CHEAPER $$) ... AND YOU GET THE PICTURE (backdoor - trojan horse)
If my Ipad is lost or stolen I can wipe the contents of my IPAD from any where on the planet.
For 400 million dollars a year, I am willing to offer this management and technology to the US Dept of defense.
PM me here for a 100% better run US Dept of defense.
This is total Bull Sh--. Yes it is possible to lose control of a drone. In this case it would be programed to fly straight and level and return to base. If control was not obtained after a certain period of time it would be programed to self destruct. I would suspect the first thing to self destruct would be the electronics and programing of the drone. After that it is nothing but a chunk of metal diving at the ground at VNE.
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