Iranian Possession Of A U.S. Spy Drone

Image via Wikipedia

On Dec. 8th, Iranian State TV aired footage of what they claim is an RQ-170 drone – in REALLY good condition. The U.S. has openly stated that a drone did in fact land in Iranian territory, but opted neither to retrieve, nor to destroy the drone. In fact, the U.S. government claimed the drone crashed and all that was left was a “pile of rubble.”

So, either Iran is airing images of an intact U.S. drone that is faux to attract attention and promote anti-American propaganda or Iran is airing images of an intact U.S. drone that is REAL and appears to be in great condition. Let’s assume it’s real.

Scenarios:

Iran employs the technology into their own
Iran sells the technology to China or Russia – who then breaks it down, employs it into their technology, and then sells it back to Iran – Ikea style.

Suppose we say that the U.S. intentionally crashed the RQ-170 in Iran – intact and operational – what would be the strategic value of that? Remember – it was NOT important enough to send in Seal Team 6 or whomever, which means the U.S. government really thought it was destroyed or really wanted Iran to possess it.

Israel is probably sweatin’ it a little.