Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

"Iranian Drone" Footage Looks a Crock
News | 11/13/06

Posted on 11/13/2006 7:37:06 PM PST by pabianice

OK. Call me a skeptic. The aircraft on the starboard side of the flight deck appear to have horizontal stabilizers with anhedral and one vertical stabilizer. The last US carrier fighter to be so configured was the F-4, retired a long time ago. Also, the carrier itself looks like an oil-burner, not a Nimitz.

Opinions?


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 11/13/2006 7:37:08 PM PST by pabianice
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: pabianice

Maybe they tailed a Chinese carrier by mistake.


2 posted on 11/13/2006 7:45:20 PM PST by Last Dakotan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Last Dakotan

Well, the Chinese would have to have a carrier for that to be true. :P

That said, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if the Iranians took some old video and claimed that they took it. IIRC, they did something similar relatively recently.


3 posted on 11/13/2006 7:47:36 PM PST by Constantine XI Palaeologus ("Vicisti, Galilaee")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

The aircraft opposite the island with its wing spread, (just coming off the arresting gear?) looks very much like an A-6.


4 posted on 11/13/2006 7:52:52 PM PST by Wisconsin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice
Are you talking about the aircraft on the starboard side facing the bow, on the front quarter? It looks like it has an AWACS dome.

You might be right about the other jets, though. They do appear to be F4's, which haven't been carrier-launched since what, the 70's? Didn't the Tomcat replace them?

I wish I knew more about naval aviation.

5 posted on 11/13/2006 7:53:01 PM PST by IronJack
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice
I'm going with the Nimitz class - as the deck outline matches from what I can see.

Also, the F-18 rear stabilizer can look downward canted (Phantom-like) at certain angles.

Apart from that, what's the deal with the pic - are the Iranians claiming to have taken it recently?

6 posted on 11/13/2006 8:01:02 PM PST by Hoplite
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

I am pretty damn familiar with aircraft shapes, and the pic is just too damn fuzzy. There is clearly an E2 hawkeye that is for sure. We need some digital improvements.

I know there is amateur astronomy software that can use multiple video images to improve clarity.


7 posted on 11/13/2006 8:02:28 PM PST by Names Ash Housewares
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

Well, one thing's for sure, if the picture is so bad that nobody can say for sure what kind of carrier it is, or whose, then it's probably of not much use to the enemy. They could have gotten a better picture from any one of several servers, including probably the US Navy!


8 posted on 11/13/2006 8:07:11 PM PST by jwparkerjr
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Hoplite

Yes, they claim to have taken it this year with a drone

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=23323_Irans_Unmanned_Drone_Also_Travels_in_Time&only


9 posted on 11/13/2006 8:09:50 PM PST by bnelson44 (Proud parent of a tanker! (Welcome Home, son! You and your comrades are our heroes!))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

Hell! That's my BATHTUB!
If you look close and the starboard quarter, you can see Matel! My boy has been playing tricks again! Probably posted this on his MySpace site.


10 posted on 11/13/2006 8:19:34 PM PST by Tulsa Ramjet ("If not now, when?" "Because it's judgment that defeats us.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

I don't know, but when we do war games, we usually do them as a show of force. If Iran didn't see them, then what's the point? We could have done them anywhere. Instead, we chose the Gulf.


11 posted on 11/13/2006 8:21:20 PM PST by sageb1 (This is the Final Crusade. There are only 2 sides. Pick one.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bnelson44
Earlier this year.

Dunno what to make of it.

12 posted on 11/13/2006 8:36:21 PM PST by Hoplite
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

Our carriers would have detected the aircraft and It would now be at the bottom of the gulf if they actually attempted this.


13 posted on 11/13/2006 10:02:55 PM PST by spikeytx86 (Pray for Democrats for they have been brainwashed by there fruity little club.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: spikeytx86

Great minds think alike. Unless it's a stealth UAV..which I doubt.


14 posted on 11/13/2006 11:56:05 PM PST by Valin (Rick Santorum 08)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: pabianice
Obviously Chinese optics are off.

It looks like a Kittyhawk from the 1970s.
There's an E-2 Hawkeye and other indetermined planes.
15 posted on 11/14/2006 12:56:52 AM PST by rmlew (Having slit their throats may the conservatives who voted for Casey choke slowly on their blood.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson