Lost Drone

[Younggun]

I'm sure everyone has seen the news story of Iran showing off their nice new toy. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...3eTmDg&usg=AFQjCNGqLnGAzXV4yqoHE1uAG3sa3g0dnQ

Am I being to optimistic thinking we should send a cruise missile to destroy the sucker and keep our crap away from china, wonder if Iran would really have the balls to hit back.

 

[scap99]

I like what Michael Berry was saying on the radio this evening, those drones should have a remote self-destruct built in. Blow that sucker up and take a handful of them crazies with it.

 

[hkusp1]

Was it a regular drone or a stealth drone? Because I've heard it both ways. I would have thought that a piece of hardware like that would have a self destruct, but then again why blow it up when it gives them an excuse to put boots down on Iranian soil.

 

[orbitup]

Maybe it's a Trojan drone.... full of midget ninjas!

 

[Younggun]

they didn't say if it was stealth, but the build was very similar to the larger stealth bomber we have and i don't remember seeing one like it before so i assume they were keeping it under wraps, until now anyways.

Edit: i guess the flying wing shape could just be a more eficient design and have nothing to do with the stealth bombers tech.

 

[TrailDust]

I'm sure everyone has seen the news story of Iran showing off their nice new toy. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...3eTmDg&usg=AFQjCNGqLnGAzXV4yqoHE1uAG3sa3g0dnQ

Am I being to optimistic thinking we should send a cruise missile to destroy the sucker and keep our crap away from china, wonder if Iran would really have the balls to hit back.

Was it a regular drone or a stealth drone? Because I've heard it both ways. I would have thought that a piece of hardware like that would have a self destruct, but then again why blow it up when it gives them an excuse to put boots down on Iranian soil.

I have some reservations about whether the vehicle the Iranians displayed is an actual RQ-170 based on an almost pristine vehicle showing no signs of damage, a lower section of the vehicle "curtained off/hidden" by Iranian propaganda material, and that there appears to be no basic radar absorbent coating on the exterior and it appears to be all metal.

If--I repeat--if the RQ-170 displayed is real then there's no great loss regarding stealth. Although the vehicle has stealth features, the actual level of stealth technology employed is at 1st Generation stealth (think F-117) and it has little value in that respect. The real technological loss for us would be in the communications gear and also the electro-optical/infrared sensors and/or additional sensors on board. We'll see what shakes out about that vehicle as time goes on.

 

[majormadmax]

Additionally, it is not a "drone," it is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle" or UAV. A drone is a pilotless aircraft used for gunnery practice or similar activities, this is a remotely controlled aircraft used in a variety of functions.

Usually they are intentionally destroyed when loss of contact occurs, I don't know what happened in this instance but as TrailDust stated it is no huge loss of "stealth" low-observablity technology. As for the rest of the equipment onboard the RQ-170, affectionally known as the "Beast of Kandahar," I doubt it will reveal much as well. If anything, the cost of the loss (in terms of dollars) is gonna hurt...these suckers ain't cheap (estimated at $6M a piece)!

I wouldn't be surprised if the Iranians put it up for sale on eBay!

Cheers! M2

 

[BigHoss]

Obama said to let them have it...keep it...

I bet it's all part of his delusional "Destroy America" plan...

 

[TxDad]

Obama said to let them have it...keep it...

I bet it's all part of his delusional "Destroy America" plan...

I read he feared anything else would be an act of war. We are giving money and guns away as it is, why not these?

 

[BigHoss]

I read he feared anything else would be an act of war. We are giving money and guns away as it is, why not these?

You read correctly...

And, to your point...can we say "Fast & Furious"???

Thanks!

However, I believe...with the end of Obama...we will prevail!

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

Was it a regular drone or a stealth drone? Because I've heard it both ways. I would have thought that a piece of hardware like that would have a self destruct, but then again why blow it up when it gives them an excuse to put boots down on Iranian soil.

You would think starting any new war right now would be political suicide, but you never know with those wild and crazy guys in DC.

 

[kusai]

My thoughts exactly, I read this morning that they hijacked the UAV and safely landed it. "ARE THEY THIS SMART" sounds more like they have external help "IF" they did manage to land it safely.

You would think starting any new war right now would be political suicide, but you never know with those wild and crazy guys in DC.

 

[hkusp1]

I could easily see them hijacking it and Landing it in one piece. There was an article a few months back about the drone/Uav system being infected with a virus and the gov said they weren't surprised it happened because they don't use proprietary equipment they are operated by store bought pc's with a civilian encryption.

 

[TrailDust]

Apparently the Pentagon confirmed today that it is our vehicle. Very interesting, and I'd surmise no radar absorbent material coating was added to the exterior due to the types of radar (or lack thereof) that the vehicle was flying against so that vehicle shape was the most important factor. The press may make a federal case about stealth technology landing in the hands of America's enemies, but that's a bunch of bull crap. Thing about these kinds of materials is that you can analyze them and find out what they're made of and what frequency ranges they're designed to defeat, but without knowing the manufacturing process it's very nearly impossible to reverse-engineer them and manufacture them yourself. An excellent analogy would be like giving a primitive African tribe a cell phone. Their smartest minds might be able to understand what it is and how it works, but their capacity to replicate the manufacturing processes in order to create a cell phone of their own is nil.

 

[Renegade]

That yellow thing is fake.