Iran claims RQ-4 shootdown
 

Just breaking now.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-...20-p51zmf.html
If correct, that would be a significant escalation?
A rather expensive and important asset...

Uh oh.
 

Well - Mike Pompeo would struggle to claim one american harmed ;)

Here we go...

BREAKING: President Trump has urged his administration official to "tone down" their talk about Iran, reminding them that he is not interested in a military confrontation with Tehran, despite the hawkish views of some of his advisors

US now saying it was a Triton.

"Our glorious Revolutionary Guard took down the American Imperialist jackal drone with one of our limpet mines, salvaged earlier from the decadent western tanker......."

Eek. No doubt bits of said drone will now be enroute to Moscow and Beijing

For the US, perhaps. Iran is entitled to defend its airspace.

I wonder if there is a rather "neutral" 3rd party in that area to confirm whether the drone was downed in the iranian airspace or over international waters.
Oman?

Unless they were in Iranian airspace, which (ahem, allegedly) happened all the time in the Khosrowabad area with US aircraft heading SE out of Iraqi airspace.

Nope! Not at all.

It is considered a cost of doing business and can be used for political purposes after the fact to show hostile intent and culpability by Iran in the Tanker Attacks.

If the Iranians are such peace loving and kindly folk they would not interfere with anything or anyone assisting in providing security for commercial ship traffic would they especially in International Waters or International Airspace.

For sure....they have no legal justification for downing any aircraft or firing upon any vessel in International waters do they...unless one of their vessels are being attacked.

The Sanctions must be putting some real hurt on them....and the radical elements within their government must be acting out over it.

I wonder if they have a ribbon for that situation ;)

I thought they already had some stray ones from Afghanistan etc.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E...Q-170_incident

Would you be surprised if the drone was NOT in international waters? While Iranian leadership were not among the honest people for decades, US military ops have had their fair share of stories too.... I guess we will never know as 3rd parties will not be allowed in and it is a word against word.

I would not be surprised by anything re US military and Non-Military Intelligence gathering operations.

One thing I would for sure be surprised at would be anyone posting here at pprune have any real idea about the matter at hand.

Those that know....darn tooting will not be posting here.

From my view point....we could have dozens of Drones overhead Iran on a 24/7 basis and I would not be bothered about the Iranian response at all.

Drone surveillance should be an adjunct to Satellite and other methods of intelligence gathering as they are subject to interdiction.

Assuming warnings were given on guard before the engagement, would the drone operator been aware of these?

I just hope they knew it was a Triton they were shooting down and not a Poseidon. That really would have been a major escalation.

Playing devil's advocate for a moment, how would you feel if it were Russian or Chinese drones overflying your own country?

Play all you want....the truth of the matter is we are talking Iran, whose government is headed by radical muslim clerics who have announced their intent to obtain nuclear weapons and which funds/supports/directs aggressive military and terror activities in the Middle East.

They are bad actors that bear keeping an eye upon.

hunterboy,

"I wonder if the UAV operator would suffer any PTSD effects from something like this? I’m guessing flying a UAV is quite immersive?"

Isn't the RQ-4/MQ-4 operated in a rather different manner to things like the Reaper/Protector in that it is an autonomous 'untethered' system?

Correct. Whilst still operated by rated pilots, the level of interaction and immersion is quite different.

Now I have deliberately changed a word for two but just whose citizens have inflicted more damage on the US ?

Lets see Support for Taliban and Al Qaeda, Support for 9/11 with majority of its citizens the hiackers, aided and supported by SA Diplomats, support for War in Iraq in Anbar province where majority were Sunni by supplying weapons (6% of population / 30% of US Casualties).continued support for IS / AQ in Syria, practising genocide in Yemen, paid for Pakistan nuke weapons and now acquiring its own.

But lets worry about Iran.

Racedo,

Who are the belligerent folks...all the time talking about killing, annihilating, supporting terrorism, goose stepping down the boulevards of Tehran parading their military and Revolutionary Guards?

My vague recollection of history is another bunch once did much the same....where they had parallel military forces of standard army and those swearing allegiance to a radical party leadership.

Don't try to paint these folks as being a bunch of misunderstood Boy Scouts wannabee's.

Remember how they put down the large demonstrations against the Regime not so long ago.....murdering their own people in the streets.

I have my own beefs with the Saudi's....but the Iranian religious nutters are a far bigger problem when it comes to what they have gotten up to over the years.

In their bid to assert control over the Middle East and surrounding areas....they are causing lots of problems.

I say a pox on all their houses if they cannot learn to get along after a couple of thousand years.

Who doesn't?

CG

When Brits go to slanging the Americans....it reminds one of the costs associated with bad decisions....perhaps ya'll should have closed up shop over there and joined us over here....sort of like a Brexit circa 1776 style!:rolleyes:

As opposed to the USA who funded Al Qaeda during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, funded the IRA while at the same time welcoming them in and thereby giving them political legitimacy, don't recognise the International war Crimes Courts. Need I go on

SASless,

Y'all still speak English, even after 1776, and 1812...

What about the SAUDIS, US friends?

Err Trump has just Tweeted and sounds upset, although he hasn't gone full caps lock

Osama Bin Laden and alikes terrorized the whole world, not the Iran.
Where did ObL grew up?
Where did his allies come from?

Get real !!!

US DoD Press Conference with 3* from CENTCOM on audio - I'll link when uploaded.

US Navy RQ-4 shot down over international waters - never entered Iranian airspace.

US DoD Statement: scroll through to 13:30 for start

For all of his faults....Trump by nature does not support more war or foreign entanglements.

His first responses have always been to seek accommodation over confrontation.

That being said....some folks should be careful not to confuse meekness of manner for lack of resolve.

The Iranians may have stepped on their own Pee Pee with this latest evolution they have undertaken.

Trump has been said to think perhaps this might have been a rogue event that was not necessarily blessed by the most senior Iranian Officials

Bolton is headed to Israel....the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the CIA Director rode back to work together after a White House National Security Council meeting today.

The President did not attend that meeting....as it was called for the Heads of Agenices and Departments to come up with options for the President's consideration.