US spy drone

[tranzformer]

Since Giccin didn't start this yet here we go. So what really happened to the US spy drone. It sure doesn't look like it was shot down or crashed. Did Iran really hack it and land it?

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middl...anian-engineer

[iff2mastamatt]

The software has been a problem for the drones for years. I'm not surprised if it were hacked, but this claim by the Iranians seems a little bogus. I've read that the drone on Iranian tv was a fake .

[Longhorn248]

IMO there's no way that Iran "hacked into" the drone and landed it themselves. Just getting into the encrypted satellite signal in order to take the thing over would be a major task in itself. To then be able to control it without prior knowledge of the software and hardware being used to fly the aircraft would be a miracle. If Iran had prior knowledge to be able to do this then we have much bigger problems than losing the one drone to them.

I think the most likely scenario is that we lost communications with the drone and could no longer control it (whether or not it veered off course from Afghanistan or we were intentionally flying it in Iranian airspace is probably something we'll never know). There was probably some type of fail safe programmed into the drone that told it to land if it was out of communication for a period of time, fuel was running out, or some other set parameters were met.

I doubt Iran/Russia/China are going to learn as much from it as all the doom and gloom people are predicting as a lot of the secrets to creating the technology is in the manufacturing rather than the items themselves. I think the biggest gain for them militarily is they now have a real life example of what their radar and search equipment should be looking for so now they can more easily tune what they already have.

[Dimman]

US 'let' Iran hack it and it is a honey-pot with more sabotage soft-ware stuff in it, like that worm.

[tranzformer]

What about a few months ago when the drone fleet was hit by the virus? As the public we don't know the extent of that, but at least we can tell the drone fleet has been under "cyber attack" from someone. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011...s-drone-fleet/

The article I posted above is long but very interesting. Hard to tell how much of the info is legit.

Originally Posted by Dimman

US 'let' Iran hack it and it is a honey-pot with more sabotage soft-ware stuff in it, like that worm.

A trojan horse? I like it.

[KaliKev]

I can't believe they actually shot down one of OUR airplanes in their airspace. Total act of WAR.

[Longhorn248]

Originally Posted by Dimman

US 'let' Iran hack it and it is a honey-pot with more sabotage soft-ware stuff in it, like that worm.

Stuxnet has already been working its way through the Iranian nuclear program, but it hasn't done as much damage as the US has hoped it would. This is why we're getting all the reports that the Iranian nuclear program is still progressing and they've been saber rattling with their threats to try and close the Straight of Hormuz.

Originally Posted by tranzformer

What about a few months ago when the drone fleet was hit by the virus? As the public we don't know the extent of that, but at least we can tell the drone fleet has been under "cyber attack" from someone. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011...s-drone-fleet/

The article I posted above is long but very interesting. Hard to tell how much of the info is legit.


A trojan horse? I like it.

The official release about the "virus" was that it was simply a keylogger that didn't affect the systems in the drones. Whether or not that's true, we probably won't find out. However, I find it highly improbable that they would continue to fly them all in the middle east knowing that there was malicious software still installed that could compromise the missions.

[KaliKev]

This is the US provoking Iran into war. Just watch, late 2012 will lead to an Iranian War.

Anyone who doesn't see this is just blind. We have airbases surrounding Iran from all sides and the greedy want the oil...

[bambbrose]

Originally Posted by KaliKev

This is the US provoking Iran into war. Just watch, late 2012 will lead to an Iranian War.

Anyone who doesn't see this is just blind. We have airbases surrounding Iran from all sides and the greedy want the oil...

Agreed.

Iran should have the right to do as they please on their land. Israel has 300+ nukes, we don't need to protect them from Iran.

[Want.FR-S]

Just based on the picture itself, it *looks* like a mock-up model of the actual plane. Just look at the wing and see the thickness of it. It looks more like a baloon toy of airplane than the actual plane to me, and there is no where to be seem about the *stealth armor* that covers the plane.

I wonder if this is just a propaganda from Iran about this.

Last thing to say: if the spy drone is so secretive, why don't CIA add some self-destruct mechanism to blow things up if things happen?

[KaliKev]

Originally Posted by Want.FR-S

Just based on the picture itself, it *looks* like a mock-up model of the actual plane. Just look at the wing and see the thickness of it. It looks more like a baloon toy of airplane than the actual plane to me, and there is no where to be seem about the *stealth armor* that covers the plane.

I wonder if this is just a propaganda from Iran about this.

Last thing to say: if the spy drone is so secretive, why don't CIA add some self-destruct mechanism to blow things up if things happen?

The color of the drone would have matched the surrounding area just like camouflage for day time operations.

The US did acknowledged they have one of our top drones.

Because that 20+ pounds of explosives adds unnecessary weight which could be used for fuel, or other spying equipment all for the unlikely risk of this incident.

[tranzformer]

Originally Posted by KaliKev

The US did acknowledged they have one of our top drones.

It is just curious that the drone has no physical damage to it like you would expect if it crashed from 25-30,000 ft or if it was shot down. I guess it could just be propaganda on their part.

[KaliKev]

Well there are a few difference possibilities.

The drone is an airplane, and airplanes are made to be stable in flight. Turn off the computer and it could just very well glide and softly crash with a minimal rate of descent.

Other possibilities include Iran actually having lots of interactions with US drones in the past and hacking into systems to gain information needed to actually control a drone.

[Longhorn248]

Originally Posted by bambbrose

Agreed.

Iran should have the right to do as they please on their land. Israel has 300+ nukes, we don't need to protect them from Iran.

Agreed, until they are a direct threat to us let their neighbors handle it.

Originally Posted by Want.FR-S

Just based on the picture itself, it *looks* like a mock-up model of the actual plane. Just look at the wing and see the thickness of it. It looks more like a baloon toy of airplane than the actual plane to me, and there is no where to be seem about the *stealth armor* that covers the plane.

I wonder if this is just a propaganda from Iran about this.

Last thing to say: if the spy drone is so secretive, why don't CIA add some self-destruct mechanism to blow things up if things happen?

The drone wouldn't have "stealth armor", the material used to create the skin along with the paint used are what absorb the radar signals. The information coming out of Iran is very much propaganda.

Originally Posted by tranzformer

It is just curious that the drone has no physical damage to it like you would expect if it crashed from 25-30,000 ft or if it was shot down. I guess it could just be propaganda on their part.

It clearly wasn't shot down or crashed, the fact that Iran hasn't shown the bottom of the drone would suggest that it was landed, but probably without landing gear, or at the very least not on a runway.

Originally Posted by KaliKev

Well there are a few difference possibilities.

The drone is an airplane, and airplanes are made to be stable in flight. Turn off the computer and it could just very well glide and softly crash with a minimal rate of descent.

Other possibilities include Iran actually having lots of interactions with US drones in the past and hacking into systems to gain information needed to actually control a drone.

The drone is an airplane, however it's a flying wing design similar to the B2 stealth bomber. This type of aircraft without a tail fin or horizontal stabilizers require sophisticated computers to make minute adjustments to the control surfaces in order to keep the aircraft in the air. If the on board computer had failed it may have gone into a flat spiral and hit the ground, but there's no way it simply glided in for a landing.