Iran Shows U.S. Drone on TV, and Lodges a Protest

[spanone]

looks like it's right off the showroom floor!

********************************



Seizing on its capture of a downed C.I.A. stealth drone as an intelligence and propaganda windfall, Iran displayed the first images of the aircraft on state television Thursday and lodged an official diplomatic protest over the incursion.

The 2.5-minute video clip of the remote-control surveillance aircraft was the first visual proof to emerge that Iran had possession of the drone since Sunday, when Iran claimed that its military downed the aircraft. American officials have since confirmed that controllers of the aircraft, based in neighboring Afghanistan, had lost contact with it.

The drone, which appeared to be in good condition, was shown displayed on a platform, with photos of Iran’s revolutionary ayatollahs on the wall behind it and a desecrated version of the American flag, with what appeared to be skulls instead of stars, underneath its left wing.

Broadcast of the footage coincided with Iran’s announcement that it had formally protested what it called the violation of Iranian airspace by the spy drone. Because Iran and the United States have no direct diplomatic relations, Iran made its complaint by summoning the ambassador from Switzerland, which manages American interests in Iran.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/09/world/middleeast/iran-shows-us-drone-on-tv-and-lodges-a-protest.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print

[Harmony Blue]

1. The MIC still hasn't learned from Iraq

of course...to maximize profit is all they care about. Not surprised at all.

[Bok_Tukalo]

2. Looks a little small for the RQ170 Sentinel

[teddy51]

3. There goes a shit load of US tax payer $$$$ on R&D for this baby. I wonder if

Iran will mass produce it now that they have all this free info.

Not to mention the cost of this one alone.

[JDPriestly]

4. That is scary. How could we be so stupid as to let this technology

get into the hands of the Iranians?

This means trouble.

[spanone]

5. i'm amazed at how undamaged it is....

i don't know how you would bring down a 'wing' like this without it crashing in some manner.......

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In what appeared to be an attempt to explain the aircraft’s undamaged appearance, a Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, identified as Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said in the video that the drone “was detected by Iranian radars as soon as it entered Iranian airspace and was brought down by Iran’s military systems with the minimum damage possible.”

American military experts have cast doubt on Iran's claims precisely because of the drone's ability to avoid radar detection. "It would be almost impossible for Iran to shoot down an RQ-170 because it is stealthy, therefore, the Iranian air defenses can't see it," Loren Thompson, an analyst at the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va., told the Military Times newspaper. "Partly for the same reason, it is exceedingly unlikely that they used a cyber attack to bring down the aircraft."

Nonetheless, it remains unclear how the American controllers of the aircraft lost contact with it and how it ended up, seemingly intact, on the ground in Iran. American officials have not specified where it was lost. Iran’s state-run press has said that it landed near the town of Kashmar, about 140 miles from the Afghanistan border.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/09/world/middleeast/iran-shows-us-drone-on-tv-and-lodges-a-protest.html

[JDPriestly]

8. I'm not convinced either. It could just be a mock-up.

Iran may be lying. Wouldn't surprise me at all. The drones sent over enemy territory should contain mechanisms that blow them if they go missing.

This is really bad news in my opinion. But then, what do I know?

[The Straight Story]

6. If their military downed it...why does it seem intact? If it crashed there would be damage

if they shot it, there would be damage.

Not saying they don't have one but you think there would be some sort of damage falling from that high up.

Unless we wanted them to have it, then we attack Israel with one like it, blame Iran and start a war....

[moondust]

7. Push the self-destruct button NOW!

:shrug:

[The Northerner]

9. Why is this provocation still occurring?

Isn't there supposed to be new leadership in office?