Russia downs US drone *Breaking*

Link

Moscow (AFP) - A United States surveillance drone has been intercepted above the Ukranian region of Crimea, a Russian state arms and technology group said Friday.

"The drone was flying at about 4,000 metres (12,000 feet) and was virtually invisible from the ground. It was possible to break the link with US operators with complex radio-electronic" technology, said Rostec in a statement.

The drone fell "almost intact into the hands of self-defence forces" added Rostec, which said it had manufactured the equipment used to down the aircraft, but did not specify who was operating it.

This is pretty huge.

Was Crimea annexed yet? Would this be considered Russia territory?

I will add more as I research that thread. ATS thread

This is getting to the point of no return. This is a huge statement by Russia. I am now convinced that this will continue to escalate.

Damn. I hope this isn't the beginning of, dare I say, WWIII.....

AAC

Things are beginning to get a little bit crazy - however, if Russia were to send a drone into, say Iraqi airspace, I have no doubt that the US would do the same thing. The only difference being that Russia is there at the request of Crimea as well as there to protect Russian citizens. They have more right to be there than we do being in Iraq or Afghanistan.

This will not end well for America....

tallcool1
Things are beginning to get a little bit crazy - however, if Russia were to send a drone into, say Iraqi airspace, I have no doubt that the US would do the same thing. The only difference being that Russia is there at the request of Crimea as well as there to protect Russian citizens. They have more right to be there than we do being in Iraq or Afghanistan.

This will not end well for America....

I somewhat agree, but if there was mutual respect, Putin would call Obama and warn him to stop flying recon missions over Crimea... Or else...

Looks like that time has come and go.

This a major move on the proverbial chess board. We are in check...

AAC

Well this should be interesting. IMO we have NO business flying drones over there. I am going to file for a much larger IRS refund this year. I did not give permission for my Government to risk my money so foolishly. Oh wait, they doon't need it and never have and they have always done WTF ever they want to do regardless of what it costs.

Someday I will have a credit card with no limits......



Meanwhile the USA will whine, but that is it.

reply to post by tallcool1

They technically have a right to be there under old Ukrainian laws, but the new government emerging no longer follows the old law Putin refuses to acknowledge it though. And if you really think hes all about protecting Russians you are naieve.

This could be a stretch. But remember the hacked email from army sergeant to Ukrainian PM?

Email from Jason Gresh:

Events are moving rapidly in Crimea. Our friends in Washington expect more decisive actions from your network.
I think it’s time to implement the plan we discussed lately. Your job is to cause some problems to the transport hubs in the south-east in order to frame-up the neighbor.
It will create favorable conditions for Pentagon and the Company to act.
Do not waste time, my friend.
Respectfully,
JP
Jason P. Gresh
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army
Assistant Army Attaché
U.S. Embassy, Kyiv
Tankova 4, Kyiv, Ukraine 04112
(380-44) 521 – 5444 | Fax (380-44) 521 – 5636

Perhaps this is part of the plan. Us knew Russia would down the plane, but in the publics eyes, it still looks like an act of aggression.

Especially if Crimea has not been formally annexed yet.

AAC

Maybe the USA wanted them to "capture" this drone. Russia took the bait.

Think about it. What better opportunity to learn about Russia's capabilities on intercepting/controlling drones than during a morally questionable occupation by Russia of Ukraine? Opportunities like this don't come around almost at all.

What you do is have all the data recorded during the attack, wait until the radio jamming is finished and the craft is "stopped", then upload via satellite all the data back to HQ and have that device self destruct (erase the program & contents).

For the price of a drone you get invaluable knowledge about your enemy's technological capabilities against one of your cutting edge weapons platforms.

From that you can develop all kinds of counter measures for the next generation of drones.

reply to post by acmpnsfal


If you really believe it was Ukrainians revolting and not some American hired goons attempting to overthrow yet another government at Russia's doorstep - then it is not really me who is the naïve one.

Edited to add: Are you actually implying that Crimea does not have Russians living there as well as Russian flag waving supporters? Perhaps you need to turn off CNN and MSNBC and do a little digging...

AnAbsoluteCreation

tallcool1
Things are beginning to get a little bit crazy - however, if Russia were to send a drone into, say Iraqi airspace, I have no doubt that the US would do the same thing. The only difference being that Russia is there at the request of Crimea as well as there to protect Russian citizens. They have more right to be there than we do being in Iraq or Afghanistan.

This will not end well for America....

I somewhat agree, but if there was mutual respect, Putin would call Obama and warn him to stop flying recon missions over Crimea... Or else...

Looks like that time has come and go.

This a major move on the proverbial chess board. We are in check...

AAC

Too early to assume it was shot down on orders from Moscow. There are a lot of militias forming in Crimea and Russia is happy to arm them, so it's possible Putin never gave the order at all. Still a very serious escalation if true. Anyone have other corresponding reports?

Meanwhile the Iranians are still adapting technologies from the captured US spy stealth drone they forced to land.

Shooting them down is too easy, try to catch one alive.

reply to post by AnAbsoluteCreation


Incoming response from the White House in 3...2...1...

White House: "You better give our drone back, or else!"

Russia: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

reply to post by Cryptonomicon


Like a Trojan horse?

Krazysh0t
reply to post by AnAbsoluteCreation

 

Incoming response from the White House in 3...2...1...

White House: "You better give our drone back, or else!"...

...John Kerry's chin will grow by several millimeters. He may even make another empty threat.

Picture of down drone.

According to Voice of Russia, a state-owned news operation, the drone was brought down with "electronic warfare." The fallen drone is "almost intact," according to the technology company, and currently in the hands of the Russian military. Rostec guesses, based on an identification number, that the drone was operated by the Reconnaissance Brigade, U.S. troops based in Bavaria.

Whether or not Russia actually shot down an American drone is entirely unclear, as no hard evidence has been presented to back up the claim. Iran has claimed to intercept American drones on multiple occasions, and once even claimed to have reconstructed a copycat, but even that seemed fake. We won't know if this report about Russia is true until an image emerges. However, no one would be surprised to learn that the American are conducting surveillance over Crimea, and even an accidental crash wouldn't be unheard of.

AAC

reply to post by Cryptonomicon

Maybe the USA wanted them to "capture" this drone. Russia took the bait.

Like they wanted Iran to capture their drone. What a strategy !

Just admit it, the US drone technology is a joke. Simple.

I can now imagine the Russians laughing at this hilarious incident.

AnAbsoluteCreation

tallcool1
Things are beginning to get a little bit crazy - however, if Russia were to send a drone into, say Iraqi airspace, I have no doubt that the US would do the same thing. The only difference being that Russia is there at the request of Crimea as well as there to protect Russian citizens. They have more right to be there than we do being in Iraq or Afghanistan.

This will not end well for America....

I somewhat agree, but if there was mutual respect, Putin would call Obama and warn him to stop flying recon missions over Crimea... Or else...

Looks like that time has come and go.

This a major move on the proverbial chess board. We are in check...



I think this was our warning, we sent that drone in because our government thinks it can do whatever it wants and wont get caught or dont care if we do. ...how long do you think it will be before we ask for this one back? And do you think we will get it back? I dont

AAC

No this isn't 'huge'.

Anyone with a laptop, and a gps jammer can bring down a drone.

The same way Iran brought one down.

The stupid part here is the military KNEW drones have an extreme vulnerabliity.

But they think other people are too 'dumb' to figure it out.

ausername

...John Kerry's chin will grow by several millimeters. He may even make another empty threat.

Every time a red line is broken Kerry Chin grows and Obama hair goes whiter

reply to post by JHumm


Hell no we won't get it back.

I bet Russia reverse engineers it in a week and the publishes the tech online. Hahaha.

Kerry will then say, "or else...."

AAC

reply to post by neo96


I beg to differ. The drone is in hands of Russian military right now during the tensest moment since the Cold War.

AAC