DTN News - IRAN DEFENSE NEWS: RQ-170 ~ A Primer On The ‘Beast of Kandahar
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Jason Ukman - The Washington Post - Press TV
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Jason Ukman - The Washington Post - Press TV(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 9, 2011: The RQ-170 drone — the secret surveillance craft that Iran purports to have displayed on Thursday — has been seen before, but just barely.
Even before the Iranians claimed to have taken possession of the drone, the RQ-170 was the subject of fascination in military and intelligence circles.
Although it was believed to have been first spotted in 2007, flying out of Afghanistan, it wasn’t until December 2009 — after a model was photographed at the main U.S. airfield in Kandahar province — that the military confirmed the existence of the craft.
The Air Force now maintains a fact sheet on the drone, made by Lockheed Martin, but little is known about its capabilities or specifications, other than that it has special coatings and a batwing shape designed to evade enemy air radar.
The RQ-170 has always been seen at a distance, and images have always been of poor quality. (You can see one such image here.)
The result is that it’s exceedingly difficult to verify Iranians’ claims about the drone, including that it’s authentic and that it was barely damaged when it went down in the country’s east. U.S. officials have already dismissed claims that the RQ-170 was shot down.
The drone shown by the Iranians Thursday is mustard or beige in color, and it appears broken and mended in parts.
According to an Iranian brigadier general quoted by the semiofficial Fars News Agency, the drone has a wing span of about 85 feet.
The model seen in 2009 was estimated to have a wingspan of as much as 80 feet, according to GlobalSecurity.org.
The Pentagon on Thursday declined comment on the Iranian images.
*DTN News ~ Press TV
Iran has strongly censured the violation of its airspace by a US spy drone, urging the United Nations to condemn such contravention and adopt necessary measures to end these “dangerous and illegal” acts.
Iran's Ambassador to the UN Mohammad Khazaei lodged the appeal in an official letter, also communicated to the Security Council and the General Assembly, to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, IRNA reported on Friday.
“Recently, an unmanned US spy aircraft of RQ-170 type and with a specified serial number violated the Islamic Republic's airspace,” Khazaei said, pointing to “increasing covert and provocative” operations by the US government against Iran during recent months.
He added that the aircraft flied 250 kilometers deep into the Iranian territory up to the northern region of the city of Tabas, where it faced “prompt and forceful” action by Iran's Armed Forces.
The Iranian government insists that the "blatant and provocative” violation of Iran's airspace is tantamount to an act of hostility against the country, which is a flagrant breach of the international law, particularly the fundamental principles of the UN Charter, the diplomat pointed out.
Khazaei further said that the Iranian government strongly objects to such “hostile and aggressive” acts and warns against the repercussions of repeating such misdeeds.
The Islamic Republic asserts its legitimate right to adopt all necessary measures to protect its national sovereignty, he added.
Iran's UN ambassador reiterated that the Iranian government “calls for the condemnation of such aggressive acts and implementation of effective and clear measures in line with the UN responsibilities to end these dangerous and illegal moves and to maintain regional and international peace and security in accordance with the UN Charter.”
On December 4, the Iranian Army's electronic warfare unit downed an RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone after it crossed into Iran's airspace over the border with neighboring Afghanistan.
Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed on Tuesday that the aircraft had been part of a CIA reconnaissance mission involving the United State's intelligence community stationed in Afghanistan.
On Thursday, Commander of the Aerospace Division of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said after the US spy aircraft's entry into Iran's eastern airspace, it fell in the electronic ambush of the Iranian Armed Forces and was brought to the ground with minimum damage caused to it.
Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Swiss Ambassador to Iran Livia Leu Agosti to strongly protest the recent violation of the Islamic Republic's airspace by the US spy drone.
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