RQ-170 Sentinel Drone

[oldguy]

What better way to deliver and infiltrate Stuxnet type Worms, Virus's, Trojans, malware and the like into Iran's military complex than to deliver it to them via an intact RQ-170 Sentinel drone?

 

The odds of that type drone not containing a fail-safe self destruct mechanism, then somehow without that fail-safe mechanism going off, the drone falling out of control from an altitude of 50,000 feet and landing intact in the hands of Iranian's is folly the Iranians just might believe.

 

Sure thing, once Iran plugs computer components from that Drone into their computers, we will see malware type havoc spread inside all of their air force and missile defense systems.

Edited December 8, 2011 by oldguy

[allrocketspsl]

What better way to deliver and infiltrate Stuxnet type Worms, Virus's, Trojans, malware and the like into Iran's military complex than to deliver it to them via an intact RQ-170 Sentinel drone?

 

The odds of that type drone not containing a fail-safe self destruct mechanism, then somehow without that fail-safe mechanism going off, the drone falling out of control from an altitude of 50,000 feet and landing intact in the hands of Iranian's is folly the Iranians just might believe.

 

Sure thing, once Iran plugs computer components from that Drone into their computers, we will see malware type havoc spread inside all of their air force and missile defense systems.

 

wow I just told my wife,no way that thing didnt have self destruct on board,its loade with gps most likely the sneakiest virus programs on this earth,and crappy technology outdated or shit that never worked properly

[mike_au]

I'm not convinced, if the computer shop down the road is smart enough to only plug customer PCs into an isolated network I would hope that military reverse engineers could wrap their head around the concept. It's really not hard to set up a sandbox where you can study stuff without allowing it to interact with other important systems.

[Peret]

From the pics I saw, it obviously didn't fall to earth from a great height. Much more likely they learned how to drive it - perhaps with Russian or Chinese assistance - then took control of it and landed the damn thing normally. The Chinese in particular would probably pay a fortune to get their hands on one.

[MondoMage]

When I first heard that the drone had been "shot down" I figured all that would be left were some scraps and things. But what was shown on TV was fully intact, putting lie to the whole shoot-down claim. That drone came down rather softly, either through guidance malfunction or (as mentioned above) through someone hacking into the control system and landing it. And if someone has figured out how to do that (it was only a matter of time, to be honest), then the whole concept of drone operations is in need of some serious rethinking.

[Pyrophury]

If it crash landed due to a guidance or mechanical malfunction then you wouldn't expect it to be intact, I'd be surprised if the Iranians have the capability to detect let alone take control of it, but that would explain why it's still in such good shape. Either way it's very embarrassing for the US, not only has the technology fallen into the hands of the Iranians and it's allies, they have handed Iran a great morale boosting propaganda coup. Chinese engineers have probably already had it apart and put it back together by now.

 

 

[Arthur]

The Chinese probably MADE the chipset that controls these planes! They probably put a back-door in the firmware.

[Peret]

I'd be surprised if the Iranians have the capability to detect let alone take control of it

Why? Iran's present government may be a mad religious dictatorship, but they're by no means technologically backward. They've been watching these things fly up, down and around their border with Iraq for close on ten years now and they've had plenty of opportunity to monitor and analyze the command and control signals. As for detecting them, these things are not invisible in daylight with a clear sky. I watched one doing slow figure-8s over Las Vegas yesterday (they train the controllers in Nevada). I caught sight of a flash of sunlight high in the sky and then it was easy to follow it with binoculars because it was flying so slowly.

[mabuse00]

IF these machines are so full of top secret technology, they would not fly over enemy territory.

Anyone who uses them must have considered that risk.

 

I also believe that the technology required to perform it's task is nothing very special in these days.

 

The Chinese probably MADE the chipset that controls these planes! They probably put a back-door in the firmware.

I bet the chips are not important. The software is.

[marks265]

The Chinese probably MADE the chipset that controls these planes! They probably put a back-door in the firmware.

 

I've heard the government specifies the simplest of devices such as a jump drive for this type of reasoning.

 

Mark

[Pyrophury]

http://winteryknight.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/iran_drone.jpg

[oldguy]

http://winteryknight.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/iran_drone.jpg

 

Given the circumstances involved, only a FOOL would ask that

What the hell was Obama thinking?

That is not a question.

[NightHawkInLight]

Given the circumstances involved, only a FOOL would ask that

What the hell was Obama thinking?

That is not a question.

I must have missed this, did he honestly ask for it back?

[nater]

I must have missed this, did he honestly ask for it back?

 

He did.

 

Although the whole situation seems rather bizarre and I'm not buying it.

 

It is doubtful the parts are made in China. I'd bet they're 100% American made. There are too large firms in my city which specialize in designing and manufacturing electronics for the military. They do a lot with radios and other communication equipment. I once had a job interview with them, and just to get inside the main building I had to show several forms of ID, including a copy of my birth certificate with a seal stamped on it, had to be searched, and you were escorted by a couple of guards everywhere you went.

 

IF these machines are so full of top secret technology, they would not fly over enemy territory. Anyone who uses them must have considered that risk.

What? We and other armies throughout the world use top secret technology in and over enemy territory all the time. Spy planes have been captured before as well. http://en.wikipedia....60_U-2_incident

Edited December 15, 2011 by nater