Iran TV shows alleged US drone
By Joe Sterling
Iranian TV aired images Thursday of what it says is the U.S. stealth drone that went down in Iran last week.
Press TV showed different angles of an apparently intact craft on a pedestal with uniformed people in the scene, including two having a discussion about the unmanned aircraft - identified as an RQ-170 drone.
The authenticity of the footage could not be independently confirmed.
Two U.S. officials confirmed to CNN Tuesday that the drone was part of a CIA reconnaissance mission that involved both the intelligence community and military personnel stationed in Afghanistan.
A senior U.S. official with direct access to the assessment about what happened to the unmanned aircraft said it was tasked to fly over western Afghanistan and look for insurgent activity, with no directive to either fly into Iran or spy on Iran from Afghan airspace.
A U.S. satellite quickly pinpointed the downed drone, which apparently sustained significant damage, the senior official said.
Press TV network also showed reporters questioning the Swiss envoy to Tehran, who was summoned by Iran's Foreign Ministry over the issue. Switzerland represents U.S. interests in Iran, which doesn't have diplomatic relations with the United States.
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@natlsecuritycnn on Twitter
Has anyone brought up the question how such a high tech secret technological stealth drone could be developed without a fail-safe mechanism to self destruct when it either a) sustains and exceed a sudden drop in altitude, or b) hasn't received a signal within a certainamount of time or c) any other measure that would protect this vital technology? Seems like a gaping hole of incredible stupidity and short sightedness for such brainiacs developing this stuff and sinking our precious resources into developing this. Isn't this an obvious question?
Maybe they can get a horse to pull it around like a kite.
http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/as-the-crow-flies/