DoD releases shoot down video:
Pretty expensive cost of doing business SAS - US$150m - and one of only 42 airframes.
I'd imagine CENTCOM would be pretty pissed?
One assumes it was just doin' what such platforms do - cruising along at around FL60 and using sensors etc to look sideways into Iran from the safety of international airspace.
I'm amazed that something of this size and cost doesn't have really sophisticated ELINT countermeasures, and was able to be shot down in the first place.
Or was this just some kind of lucky shot?
EDIT: To improve survivability, the Global Hawk is fitted with a Raytheon developed
AN/ALR-89 self-protection suite consisting of the AN/AVR-3
Laser warning receiver, AN/APR-49
Radar warning receiver and a jamming system. An
ALE-50 towed decoy also aids in the deception of enemy air defenses.
So - what happened? I thought Iranian missile technology was supposed to be pretty basic...