"They won't find any thing of value on this drone, I promise."
Posted on 12/18/2011 5:11:02 PM PST by Hunton Peck
WASHINGTON – A U.S. official says Iran will find it hard to exploit any data and technology aboard the captured CIA stealth drone because of measures taken to limit the intelligence value of drones operating over hostile territory.
The official also said Saturday that despite Iran's latest claims to have hijacked the RQ-170 Sentinel and brought it down near the eastern Iranian city of Kashmar, the U.S. is convinced that the drone malfunctioned.
"The Iranians had nothing to do with it," the official said.
The official, who could speak about classified matters only on condition of anonymity, did not provide details. But independent experts say the data and communications of the unmanned aircraft are heavily encrypted, making it difficult for Iran to harvest much intelligence from them. U.S. officials previously have said the drones have no self-destruct mechanism.
The RQ-170 was nicknamed "the Beast of Kandahar" because it was first spotted over Afghanistan. It was used to conduct surveillance of Osama bin Laden's Pakistani compound before he was killed in a U.S. raid.
The Christian Science Monitor on Thursday quoted an unidentified Iranian engineer as saying that Tehran seized control of the drone by exploiting a key vulnerability in its navigation system, its reliance on GPS technology to guide it home when it loses contact with U.S. controllers.
The engineer said Iran's electronic warfare specialists jammed the RQ-170's satellite communications link and tricked its autopilot into thinking that it was landing at its base in Afghanistan when it touched down in Iran.
"The GPS navigation is the weakest point," the engineer was quoted as saying. "By putting noise on the communications, you force the bird into autopilot."
U.S. officials say Iran merely picked up a drone -- or large pieces of one -- that had lost contact with its controllers...
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Is this the same “US Official” who said, “There’s no way Iran could have downed one of our drones..”
And then, a few days later, said, “Well, they couldn’t have gotten it intact..”
Did Pentagon cutbacks lead to deletion of a self-destruct explosive charge?
“Above all,” said the anonymous source, “Obama handled it perfectly. It was basically the fault of those Republican congressmen who are constantly criticizing and stonewalling our incredible President! If not for them, it never would have happened.”
no. politics led to a drain of dedicated ranking officers in the pentagon
Considering that Iran is in possession of their own fake drone, I'm not surprised.
These are the same clowns who at first said they shot it down. Now they say they hijacked the GPS system. They cannot seem to get their story straight.
The Iranians remind me of Mussolini’s Italy.
Obummer said: CAN I HAVE MY DRONE BACK.... PRETTY PLEASE!
"They won't find any thing of value on this drone, I promise."
Well duh, it’s written in English. They speak Farsi. It will take them days to translate it. //sarcasm
Hmmm. BO-The-ZerO’s spin machine is working overtime on this. Obama just needs to hire Bagdad-Bob and be done with it.
I really doubt that you’d want a “self-destruct explosive charge” on a drone which routinely flies back to home base.
Safer to have it do a wing-over and fly straight down if contact/control is lost over enemy territory.
I still find it curious that the drone somehow managed to land at an airport with no damage. Photos I have seen on the “news” show the craft to be in pristine shape. I thought the CIA or the Pentagon or the Obama regime or someone said it crashed. I am also curious as to why a super sensitive, super secret, super high tech spy plane did not have a built-in self destruct mechanism. Curious. Very curious.
After getting through the keystone cop image of the CIA, the ineptness of the military and other MSM fantasies, remember one thing. We have the best technology on the planet.
I would seriously doubt a country, who’s AF consists of F14’s with no spare parts and other obsolete weapons, as well as technology and a ideology rooted in 7th century Islam is gong to break codes or bring down an advanced system produced by US engineers.
MI Ping
Maybe, but I bet the PRC and the USSR, er, Russians won’t.
I don't remember the part in the numerous security briefings saying it's okay to speak about classified matters as long as you don't identify yourself.
I do remember threats of many many years imprisonment and lots of $$ in fines for violations.
U.S. officials previously have said the drones have no self-destruct mechanism.
Thou art truly sh1tting me. How do you make a machine designed to fly over enemy territory, filled with cutting edge technology and you do not have a “bzzzztttt” switch in it?
.....and then there was the part about cutting your nuts off.
The reporter probably wrote ‘who could speak’ instead of ‘who would speak’.
Never underestimate your enemy.
Nearly every engineering and science grad school in the nation has several to many Iranian grad students rolling through their departments for the past 30 years.
If they can process nuclear fuels and are feared to possess nuclear weapons, then they also will have the ability in at least small numbers to dedicate themselves to such projects when they have been given over a decade of opportunity.
We haven’t done anything to redirect their volition.
If anything, our departure from Iraq might embolden their zeal.
This sounds like an excuse for having done nothing.
Iran downed an American plane.
So do something about that. Don’t explain why it’s not a bad thing.
It’s a bad thing.
One word: Bondo.
In the Navy they threaten to use you for shark bait. Three guesses where they but the hook.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
No. Weight, fuel and payload restrictions did.
Mark
because real life is not a hollywood production...
Very likely that the FSB is using Iran as we used Afganistan and Turkey during the Cold War. Russian Spetnaz troops and Sigint agents at small Elint sites (shipping vans) likely line various hot US signal reception areas in Iran monitoring what we are doing in the Afganistan war. The remote area where the drone crashed is one possible area where they may be active.
The Russians would like nothing better than to sell Iran more mil stuff like S300 systems. Even if they have to take an initial loss, other countries will demand them and so arms sales will begin again.
The Russians and Chinese probabally have either stolen most of the tech or have things comparable or better.
So the Russians force the drone down in such a way that US cannot tell if it was forced down or malfunctioned. The Iranians immediately demand Russia give them the mil tech in exchage for drone access. (Which they have now done with Yakout missile systems).
The Russian arms companies will be back in business again with the latest mil tech for export to other countries demanding S300s and Yakouts.
Devious I know, but these Russians do not think as most, deviousness is a way of life.
“So you imagine the FSB is just twiddling its collective thumbs, while Russian engineers and nuclear scientists pour over various nuclear projects in Iran?”
I don’t believe they are twiddling their thumbs. Nor the Chinese, nor the Norks or anyone who is working against the US. However, in saying that, I still assume the Russians are working against the Chinese who is working against whomever.
So who is the Iranians main benefactor?
I’m saving these remarks to show my Trophy Bride of 50+ years the next time she gets poed that I will not tell her anything that was classified and I was in the ‘Need to know Loop’!
“The official, who could speak about classified matters only on condition of anonymity”
‘I don’t remember the part in the numerous security briefings saying it’s okay to speak about classified matters as long as you don’t identify yourself.
I do remember threats of many many years imprisonment and lots of $$ in fines for violations.’
‘.....and then there was the part about cutting your nuts off.’
‘In the Navy they threaten to use you for shark bait. Three guesses where they but the hook.’
Thank you for your interest in National Defense.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
So who is the Iranians main benefactor?
—
Russia is the hands down benefactor: large scale profits from nuclear reactors, mil gear, etc. The Chinese get the oil.
The Russians and the Chinese renewed their mutual defense pact some years back.
The Chinese have their Super 863 Project: the search for the next super weapon - data acquired via espionage in all countries; Project 921 for human space flight and a permanent space station.
Do these drones have such a mechanism?
If so, one has to wonder WHY it was not used.
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