The radar-evading drone that crash-landed over the weekend in Iran was on a mission for the CIA, according to a senior U.S. official, raising fears that the aircraft’s sophisticated technology could be exploited by Tehran or shared with other American rivals.
It was unclear whether the drone’s mission took it over Iran or whether it strayed there accidentally because of technical malfunctions, the official said.
Though the drone flight was a CIA operation, U.S. military personnel were involved in flying the aircraft, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secrecy involved.
The jet-powered, bat-winged RQ-170 Sentinel drone is considered one of the most advanced in the U.S. arsenal, with stealth technology and sophisticated computer systems that enable it to penetrate deep into hostile territory without detection.
Its capabilities were demonstrated during the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan, where it provided surveillance of the operation.
The aircraft’s full abilities are a closely guarded secret, and the Pentagon has not revealed its price tag, size or top speed. But it has acknowledged this: The Sentinel may now be in Iranian hands.
Although the Sentinel’s capabilities remain largely classified, it is believed to carry the latest in cutting-edge cameras and sensors that can “listen in” on cellphone conversations as it soars miles above the ground or “smell” the air and sniff out chemical plumes emanating from a potential underground nuclear laboratory.
Ever since it was developed at Lockheed Martin Corp.’s famed Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, the Sentinel drone has been cloaked in tight secrecy by the U.S. government. But now the drone that the Iranian military claims to have brought down for invading its airspace might be made far more public than the Pentagon or Lockheed ever intended.
Another U.S. official with access to intelligence said that losing the Sentinel is a major security breach. The official, who was not authorized to publicly speak about the information, wouldn’t say how the drone fell into Iranian hands, but confirmed that the downed drone was largely intact.
“It’s bad — they’ll have everything” in terms of the secret technology in the aircraft, the official said. “And the Chinese or the Russians will have it too.”
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5 Responses
It’s too bad they can’t make it self destruct if it falls into enemy hands!
incredible,
they have the latest technology, the most sophisticated evrything and they cant self destruct
how advanced and at the same time how primitive!!!!
#1…
I was under the impression that these aircraft ARE equipped to either self-destruct or be able to be destroyed by remote control if they crash.
This is really bad news.
ahavas_yisroel – do you really think thgat the USAF, CIA and Skunk Works didn’t build into the drone redundant capacities to deal with this kind of situation? Aircrew go through intense training to prepare them for the possibility of being shot down over hostile territory, and this includes the destruction of classified equipment. So…I just have to believe that this contigency was planned for.
I guess our defeatist President Can’t (of “audacity of hope” fame) won’t dispatch some SEALs to destroy the wreckage and thereby protect our national security–that would be, ya know, hard and all. Maybe we should press the reset button with Iran again, and sit down together without precondition to beg for our drone back, and if they still won’t give it to us, that won’t be acceptable, so we’ll just have to beg Russia and China to put some sanctions with teeth in place.