Iran Shoots Down RQ-4 BAMS-D $150m Drone near Persian Gulf
Iran has shot down a US reconnaissance RQ-4 drone that entered its airspace near the Strait of Hormuz (which links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman)
"The IRGC said its air force had shot down a US "spy" drone in the early hours after the unmanned aircraft violated Iranian airspace near Kuhmobarak in the southern province of Hormozgan.
In a speech carried live on Iranian state television, IRGC commander-in-chief Maj-Gen Hossein Salami warned the US to respect Iran's territorial integrity.
"The downing of the American drone was a clear message to America, and the message is this: those who defend the borders of the Islamic nation of Iran will react in a total and decisive way to any intrusions by foreign elements on our land. Our borders are our red line."
He added: "Iran is not seeking war with any country, but we are fully prepared to defend Iran."" (BBC)
Update: Iran has stated that the RQ-4 was launched from the Al Dhafra air base in the UAE and that Iran has "retrieved sections of the US military drone in OUR territorial waters where it was shot down".
"The IRGC said its air force had shot down a US "spy" drone in the early hours after the unmanned aircraft violated Iranian airspace near Kuhmobarak in the southern province of Hormozgan.
In a speech carried live on Iranian state television, IRGC commander-in-chief Maj-Gen Hossein Salami warned the US to respect Iran's territorial integrity.
"The downing of the American drone was a clear message to America, and the message is this: those who defend the borders of the Islamic nation of Iran will react in a total and decisive way to any intrusions by foreign elements on our land. Our borders are our red line."
He added: "Iran is not seeking war with any country, but we are fully prepared to defend Iran."" (BBC)
Update: Iran has stated that the RQ-4 was launched from the Al Dhafra air base in the UAE and that Iran has "retrieved sections of the US military drone in OUR territorial waters where it was shot down".
(edited 4 years ago)
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Timeline of events released by Iran:
"The Global Hawk spy drone took off from one of the US forces' bases South of the Persian Gulf at 00:14 am today and turned off all its Identification (Identification Friend or Foe) equipment and continued flight from the Strait of Hormuz to Chabahar port in a full stealth mode," the statement said at Thursday noon after the IRGC declared in an earlier statement that it has shot down the drone at dawn.
"The drone started collecting intel in a spying operation when it was returning towards the Western parts of the region near the Strait of Hormuz and it violated the airspace over the Islamic Republic of Iran's territory," it added.
"The IRGC Aerospace Force's air defense system targeted and destroyed the hostile aircraft which had entered Iran's territorial airspace at 04:05 am," the statement said.
This timeline matches the timeline issued by CENTCOM, which said the drone was shot down at 11.35 GMT on 19/06/2019 (04.05am in Iranian time).
"The Global Hawk spy drone took off from one of the US forces' bases South of the Persian Gulf at 00:14 am today and turned off all its Identification (Identification Friend or Foe) equipment and continued flight from the Strait of Hormuz to Chabahar port in a full stealth mode," the statement said at Thursday noon after the IRGC declared in an earlier statement that it has shot down the drone at dawn.
"The drone started collecting intel in a spying operation when it was returning towards the Western parts of the region near the Strait of Hormuz and it violated the airspace over the Islamic Republic of Iran's territory," it added.
"The IRGC Aerospace Force's air defense system targeted and destroyed the hostile aircraft which had entered Iran's territorial airspace at 04:05 am," the statement said.
This timeline matches the timeline issued by CENTCOM, which said the drone was shot down at 11.35 GMT on 19/06/2019 (04.05am in Iranian time).
(edited 4 years ago)
The US disputes that the drone entered Iranian airspace.
The problem is that the airspace over the Strait of Hormuz is extremely tight because it is a very narrow passageway whose airspace is shared by Iran, Oman and the UAE. There is very little "international airspace".
Iran's airspace extends 12 nautical miles from its coast. The US argues that the drone was 17 nautical miles from Iran's coast, thus in international waters. However, when we consider that the drone had turned off its transponders, and the possibility that Iran spoofed the drone's GPS systems (such as when Iran hacked and captured the secret stealth RQ-170 drone a few years ago) the shooting down seems justified.
The problem is that the airspace over the Strait of Hormuz is extremely tight because it is a very narrow passageway whose airspace is shared by Iran, Oman and the UAE. There is very little "international airspace".
Iran's airspace extends 12 nautical miles from its coast. The US argues that the drone was 17 nautical miles from Iran's coast, thus in international waters. However, when we consider that the drone had turned off its transponders, and the possibility that Iran spoofed the drone's GPS systems (such as when Iran hacked and captured the secret stealth RQ-170 drone a few years ago) the shooting down seems justified.
(edited 4 years ago)
The drone shot down by an Iranian SAM system - the Third of Khordad [confirmed by US]:
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by Palmyra
The drone is very expensive - 2x that of a F-35 !
Not quite.
Triton is approx $120m per unit, whereas the F35 (depending on version) is anything from $90-120m, so not that far apart.
And of course, you don't lose a pilot.
Was the drone on holiday? Taking a few snaps for Instagram?
If not, it’s a legitimate target.
If not, it’s a legitimate target.
I very much doubt the Iranians are telling the truth regarding it being in Iranian airspace. Logically, why would the US fly one of their bigger, more expensive RPAS (without VLO capabilities) over Iran at the current time? If the US wanted to provoke Iran, they could have used MQ-1s or MQ-9s which there are far more of in the US arsenal and are relatively cheap.
The RQ-4's unit cost ranges from $130-220m (if you exclude/include R&D costs).
This was not a Triton, but a BAMS-D variant of the RQ-4 - a technology demonstrator model that served as a precursor to the MQ-4C Triton. Source.
The F-35's unit cost is now in the $80-90m range (excluding R&D). That means that this RQ-4 variant that was shot down by Iran likely cost 1.5-2x that of a F-35.
This was not a Triton, but a BAMS-D variant of the RQ-4 - a technology demonstrator model that served as a precursor to the MQ-4C Triton. Source.
The F-35's unit cost is now in the $80-90m range (excluding R&D). That means that this RQ-4 variant that was shot down by Iran likely cost 1.5-2x that of a F-35.
Original post by Drewski
Not quite.
Triton is approx $120m per unit, whereas the F35 (depending on version) is anything from $90-120m, so not that far apart.
Triton is approx $120m per unit, whereas the F35 (depending on version) is anything from $90-120m, so not that far apart.
Original post by Satan.
What did they expect, I don't see the story here.
The story is that an expensive drone has been shot down by Iran. This can be seen as an act of war the US and this incident could further inflame tensions between Iran and US.
It is unlikely that the tensions will aleviate any time soon as Iran has warned that they will be violating the nuclear deal by enriching more uranium than set limit.
(edited 4 years ago)
'International airspace' over Strait of Hormuz is extremely tight so if you get too close and turn off your transponders then you're asking for trouble. Possible that Iran spoofed the RQ-4's GPS so it entered Iranian airspace without knowing.
MQ-9 was already shot down by Houthis last week and Iran already has a nice collection of MQ-1s, this is a far larger and more expensive beast (30-40x more expensive in fact).
Lets wait for the official conference where they show the remains.
MQ-9 was already shot down by Houthis last week and Iran already has a nice collection of MQ-1s, this is a far larger and more expensive beast (30-40x more expensive in fact).
Lets wait for the official conference where they show the remains.
Original post by Tempest II
I very much doubt the Iranians are telling the truth regarding it being in Iranian airspace. Logically, why would the US fly one of their bigger, more expensive RPAS (without VLO capabilities) over Iran at the current time? If the US wanted to provoke Iran, they could have used MQ-1s or MQ-9s which there are far more of in the US arsenal and are relatively cheap.
Original post by stoyfan
The story is that an expensive drone has been shot down by Iran. This can be seen as an act of war the US and this incident could further inflame tensions between Iran and US.
That drone should never of been there in the first place, that's why I said what's the story here, it's justified, act of war, please.
The RQ-4 Global Hawk is the biggest drone in the world - with a 40m wingspan.
Analysis of Ulrike Franke (Policy Fellow ECFR) on what this incident means for the US and how significant it is:
Why is this shot-down of a US Triton/Global Hawk #drone by #Iran a big deal *from a drone scholar point of view*?
1. The GH is the world's biggest drone system. We are talking about a flying "data hoover", filled w/ high tech equipment --> This is a hugely expensive system. Of course, losing an expensive #drone is not the same as losing the pilot(s) of a manned system. But this isn't a throwaway drone whose loss the US will just shrug off.
2. This drone was specifically designed to be largely invulnerable - because it flies to extremely high [altitudes].
Losing this Triton/Global Hawk hence hurts the US quite a lot. And (again, speaking as drone scholar, not geopolitical commentator here) depending on the exact circumstances, this incident may also hurt exports of the system.
Source.
Analysis of Ulrike Franke (Policy Fellow ECFR) on what this incident means for the US and how significant it is:
Why is this shot-down of a US Triton/Global Hawk #drone by #Iran a big deal *from a drone scholar point of view*?
1. The GH is the world's biggest drone system. We are talking about a flying "data hoover", filled w/ high tech equipment --> This is a hugely expensive system. Of course, losing an expensive #drone is not the same as losing the pilot(s) of a manned system. But this isn't a throwaway drone whose loss the US will just shrug off.
2. This drone was specifically designed to be largely invulnerable - because it flies to extremely high [altitudes].
Losing this Triton/Global Hawk hence hurts the US quite a lot. And (again, speaking as drone scholar, not geopolitical commentator here) depending on the exact circumstances, this incident may also hurt exports of the system.
Source.
Trump has officially responded (via Twitter, of course):
Source.
Donald Trump
Iran made a very big mistake!
Iran made a very big mistake!
Source.
(edited 4 years ago)
From what I see, the US can be blamed for pulling out of the nuclear deal. But since then, Iran has been pushing its proxies in Iraq against Coalition forces, attacked tankers both in port and the Strait of Hormuz, attempted to shoot down an MQ-9 and have now shot down an RQ-4 - both that were in international waters.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-soleimani-newsmaker-idUSKCN1QM1BW
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/navy-fragments-tanker-attack-bear-iran-hallmarks-190619210938162.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-soleimani-newsmaker-idUSKCN1QM1BW
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/navy-fragments-tanker-attack-bear-iran-hallmarks-190619210938162.html
Original post by stoyfan
The story is that an expensive drone has been shot down by Iran. This can be seen as an act of war the US and this incident could further inflame tensions between Iran and US.
It is unlikely that the tensions will aleviate any time soon as Iran has warned that they will be violating the nuclear deal by enriching more uranium than set limit.
It is unlikely that the tensions will aleviate any time soon as Iran has warned that they will be violating the nuclear deal by enriching more uranium than set limit.
US shouldn't be spying in it's territory [or on it borders] then
imagine you opened your curtains one day and saw a pepping tom by your window with a camera taking photos. say you threw cold water over him ruining his camera.
that's basically what iran has done
Original post by Palmyra
In the next few hours we will see, for the first time, a formal declaration of war being published on twitter.
It'll be glorious.
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by ANM775
US shouldn't be spying in it's territory [or on it borders] then
imagine you opened your curtains one day and saw a pepping tom by your window with a camera taking photos. say you threw cold water over him ruining his camera.
that's basically what iran has done
imagine you opened your curtains one day and saw a pepping tom by your window with a camera taking photos. say you threw cold water over him ruining his camera.
that's basically what iran has done
Everyone spies on everyone. If the aircraft was in international airspace then it's legal. What do you think the Russians are doing to the UK when they send over their Bears and Blackjacks to probe UK airspace? We haven't shot them down.
Well we already know that you see things through star-spangled-banner tinted glasses!
Why were the transponders turned off when this $150m beast was flying so close to Iranian airspace (even by the US's own admission)?
Why were the transponders turned off when this $150m beast was flying so close to Iranian airspace (even by the US's own admission)?
Original post by Tempest II
From what I see
Original post by Tempest II
Everyone spies on everyone. If the aircraft was in international airspace then it's legal. What do you think the Russians are doing to the UK when they send over their Bears and Blackjacks to probe UK airspace? We haven't shot them down.
Do they turn their transponders off and come within 5 nautical miles of UK airspace (by their own admission, Iran clearly stated the RQ-4 had violated Iranian airspace, which wouldn't be the first time a US drone had done so)?
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