Iran: US Drone Data Reportedly Being Recovered

[MyLittlePony 340]

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) � Iranian experts are in the final stages of recovering data from the U.S. surveillance drone captured by the country's armed forces, state TV reported Monday.

Tehran has flaunted the drone's capture as a victory for Iran and a defeat for the United States in a complicated intelligence and technological battle.

Lawmaker Parviz Sorouri, who is on the parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, said Monday the extracted information will be used to file a lawsuit against the United States for the "invasion" by the unmanned aircraft.

Sorouri also claimed that Iran has the capability to reproduce the drone through reverse engineering, but he didn't elaborate.

The TV broadcast a video on Thursday of Iranian military officials inspecting what it identified as the RQ-170 Sentinel drone. Iranian state media have said the unmanned spy aircraft was detected and brought down over the country's east, near the border with Afghanistan. U.S. officials have acknowledged losing the drone.

Officers in the Revolutionary Guard, Iran's most powerful military force, have claimed the country's armed forces brought down the surveillance aircraft with an electronic ambush, causing minimum damage to the drone.

American officials have said that U.S. intelligence assessments indicate that Iran neither shot the drone down, nor used electronic or cybertechnology to force it from the sky. They contend the drone malfunctioned. The officials spoke anonymously in order to discuss the classified program.

U.S. officials are concerned others may be able to reverse-engineer the chemical composition of the drone's radar-deflecting paint or the aircraft's sophisticated optics technology that allows operators to positively identify terror suspects from tens of thousands of feet in the air.

They are also worried adversaries may be able to hack into the drone's database, although it is not clear whether any data could be recovered. Some surveillance technologies allow video to stream through to operators on the ground but do not store much collected data. If they do, it is encrypted.

Sorouri racheted up the anti-U.S. rhetoric in Monday's remarks.

"The extracted information will be used to file a lawsuit against the United States over the invasion," he told state TV.

Separately, in comments to the semi-official ISNA news agency, Sorouri said Iran would soon hold a navy drill to practice the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormouz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, which is the passageway for about 40 percent of the world's oil tanker traffic.

Despite Sorouri's comments and past threats that Iran could endanger the waterway if the U.S. or Israel moved against Iranian nuclear facilities, no such exercise has been officially announced.

"Iran will make the world unsafe," if the world attacks Iran, Sorouri said.

Both the U.S. and Israel have not rule out military option against Iran's controversial nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at making atomic weapons. Iran denies the charge, saying its nuclear activities are geared toward peaceful purposes like power generation.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I doubt Iran could reverse engineer it. Russia could. Russia will buy it. The Chinese could also do it na dthey may be able to outbid Russia for it.

I highly doubt there is any valuable intellignce on the plane itself. Photos of Irans own stuff, maybe. I am guessing all of that is transferred out and not stored in the plane itself

[Misha & Ira 113]

My understanding is that our fearless leader asked them "pretty please, with sugar on it" to return the drone. I am sure that this demonstration of his willingness to have a 'dialogue' will impress the Iranians so much that they will wrap up our drone, send it back and forget they ever saw it.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

My understanding is that our fearless leader asked them "pretty please, with sugar on it" to return the drone. I am sure that this demonstration of his willingness to have a 'dialogue' will impress the Iranians so much that they will wrap up our drone, send it back and forget they ever saw it.

The thing is probably going to end up being taken apart by our son at MIPT a few weeks from now. Maybe he can bring it with him when he comes back after New Year's.

[Rattlehead 69]

I doubt Iran could reverse engineer it. Russia could. Russia will buy it. The Chinese could also do it na dthey may be able to outbid Russia for it.

I highly doubt there is any valuable intellignce on the plane itself. Photos of Irans own stuff, maybe. I am guessing all of that is transferred out and not stored in the plane itself

Yeah, but do you really expect them to advertise that? Any public communications wonk is going to tell you that they've now got your tech by the short-and-curlies regardless of whether they figured it out in 5 minutes or if they're still trying to find the flux capacitor...

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

My understanding is that our fearless leader asked them "pretty please, with sugar on it" to return the drone. I am sure that this demonstration of his willingness to have a 'dialogue' will impress the Iranians so much that they will wrap up our drone, send it back and forget they ever saw it.

Obama the idiot! He can splat a terrorist in a car in Yemen but he can't hit a drone lying on the ground in Iran. The thing should have been targeted by another drone. If nothing else to take the photo op away from the gloating Iranians.

I doubt they will get much more than that from it but Russia or China will pay a few million for it. I am not joking that it could end up at MIPT, that probably IS where it would go,at least some of it.

Edited December 13, 2011 by Gary and Alla

[MyLittlePony 340]

How is the drone in such perfect shape?

[Misha & Ira 113]

I imagine the Chinese will win the bidding war...

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

My understanding is that our fearless leader asked them "pretty please, with sugar on it" to return the drone. I am sure that this demonstration of his willingness to have a 'dialogue' will impress the Iranians so much that they will wrap up our drone, send it back and forget they ever saw it.

maybe they can get an obama stimulus plan too.

[Misha & Ira 113]

And health care!

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I wonder how many camels it takes to pull that drown down a runway before it gets airborne like a giant kite.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Yeah, but do you really expect them to advertise that? Any public communications wonk is going to tell you that they've now got your tech by the short-and-curlies regardless of whether they figured it out in 5 minutes or if they're still trying to find the flux capacitor...

No I do not expect that, of course not. The thing is, the people that matter KNOW what they have and KNOW what is possible. Iran does not even refine its own oil, OK?

The only other ones with the knowledge to do anything with the technology are China and Russia. Either one makes a habit of paying big bucks for our stuff.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I imagine the Chinese will win the bidding war...

Too bad, but probably true. They will offer US $$$, all that money we send them for poison paint on chidren's toys and other good things. Sergey is in the Innovations and Technology center of MIPT for his masters and I would be really proud if he could be the one dissecting it.

[Rattlehead 69]

No I do not expect that, of course not. The thing is, the people that matter KNOW what they have and KNOW what is possible. Iran does not even refine its own oil, OK?

The only other ones with the knowledge to do anything with the technology are China and Russia. Either one makes a habit of paying big bucks for our stuff.

No doubt... I've just learned that when a professional politicians and journalists start talking, they usually don't know what they're talking about. When it comes to technology and/or hard sciences, that probability goes asymptotically toward 100%.

[MyLittlePony 340]

From looking at the drone as if it was handed over to Iran for to draw more attention the drone has no damage.