MQ-4C shot down by Iran

originally posted by: trollz
If they shot it down in international airspace, isn't that basically an act of war? Did Iran just give everyone the perfect excuse to light them up?

You would like to start WWIII possibly over a drone? Geez, Bolton and Pompeo must be your kind of guys.

What if the drone were in Iranian airspace, considering that it seems to have fallen into Iranian territory?

Good spot for reminding us of this. Also reminded that the US was once on the side of Saddam during the Iraq-Iran war. Some of us were naive youngsters at the time of the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and did not actually look deeply into the USA's relationships with groups and entities which it actually once supported and even funded (i.e. Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan)...

a reply to: Salander

The Triton/Global Hawk fles at 60,000 feet. Even hit by an SA-11 they're not going to fall straight down. Depending on the damage, it could go a long way before hitting the ground.

a reply to: Salander

Overflying sovereign airspace with "spy" planes is generally considered an act of war, amd we're doing it all over the Near East and Iran for some time. A bit surprised they'd use a Global Hawk for that, though.

But the war hawks are gearing up to fever pitch... War's big business.

Very surprised but proud of Trump for his decision, it wasn't an easy one to make but all things considered, more than likely the correct one.

Last week, Iran made an annoucement that they had built their own missile system capable of shooting down stealth airplanes

The media quietly reported that the drone was in "stealth mode" when it was shot down from "extremely high altitude"

Obviously this fact would be the most worrying for any USA attack on Iran. If Iran can shoot down Stealth tech as demonstrated, the USA and allies have lost a valuable edge.

a reply to: babybunnies

There's just one minor problem though. The Global Hawk family doesn't HAVE "Stealth mode". It's a non-stealthy UAV designed to fly slowly at high altitude, in a straight line, observing the widest possible area with each pass.

a reply to: Zaphod58

The Dark Star was supposed to be the semi secret accompanying UAV that WAS stealthy. It was cancelled. The RQ-170 and RQ-180 (possibly spotted) might fill that role now.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: babybunnies

There's just one minor problem though. The Global Hawk family doesn't HAVE "Stealth mode". It's a non-stealthy UAV designed to fly slowly at high altitude, in a straight line, observing the widest possible area with each pass.

Is it capable of any relevant intelligence outside of Iranian airspace?

I'm thinking it was actually in Iranian airspace.

a reply to: EternalSolace

The Global Hawk doesn't enter contested airspace. The BAMS-D has been used many times to monitor US ships transiting the Gulf. They fly over them as they transit, watching for any threats. The EQ-4 is capable of detecting signals from quite far away.

a reply to: anzha

It's long been rumored that Dark Star grew up into a larger platform that went active.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: anzha

It's long been rumored that Dark Star grew up into a larger platform that went active.

Surely its exhaust ports were protected...

Rq-180?
a reply to: Zaphod58

a reply to: Blackfinger

www.abovetopsecret.com...

originally posted by: Masisoar
Very surprised but proud of Trump for his decision, it wasn't an easy one to make but all things considered, more than likely the correct one.

If the US just didn't leave the nuclear deal and didn't sanctioned Iran (without good reasons), tensions and a change of war wouldn't exist right now.

Those sanctions are basicly against the people in Iran, many will loose jobs/income.

When looking back at Iraq sanctions meant allot of suffering:

First, to act as if an increase in child mortality due to economic sanctions was part of a conspiracy led by Saddam Hussein’s government ignores the fact that this is what sanctions have done to local populations across the globe. Sanctions routinely bring the particular state closer to a state of collapse, and the people who feel the effects the most are always civilians.

thearabweekly.com...

www.nytimes.com...

As many as 576,000 Iraqi children may have died since the end of the Persian Gulf war because of economic sanctions imposed by the Security Council, according to two scientists who surveyed the country for the Food and Agriculture Organization.

So when a war does start go back how it started & who is really responsible.

a reply to: Zaphod58
Do we know that it hit the ground, and not water? I know the Iranians have been parading bits of metal but I was thinking a water salvage was going to be needed, I even started Googling the water depth around there, guess I was wrong.

a reply to: Moley

The video of it going down appears to show it impacting water, as does the map showing the shootdown location.

Well, part of the US response to the overall situation is public. A cyber attack was carried out in response to the attack on the tankers. It is very doubtful that Iran would be able to repel any major operational push by the US- we've already broken down the door by crippling their air defense systems.

Cyber ttack

a reply to: Zaphod58 I saw that too, and kind of chuckled. Someone needed to do a little fact checking before going to press.

a reply to: Moley

According to an Iranian statement it landed in the water.