How Dangerous is it That Iran Has U.S. Drone?

Image credit: CNN.com

Iran has politely declined the White House’s request to return its downed drone, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today that his people have been able to "control" the device. With this sophisticated technology in Iran’s hands, what does this mistake mean for the U.S.?

First of all, it’s unclear how intact the RQ-170 drone was after its crash. Some experts have questioned the authenticity of photos and video of the UAV, speculating that Iran may have “mocked up” the drone pictured above.

However, if Iran truly does have the drone -- and it is in working condition -- many fear that the hostile nation could learn much about U.S. spying strategies and technology. Even if Iran doesn't use this information itself, it could easily be sold to China or Russia -- or any other nation that might find it useful. If nothing else, the incident has embarrassingly revealed the underlying secrecy of expanded U.S. operations against Iran's nuclear and military programs.

Ahmadinejad is claiming that his country can learn a lot from the captured technology. Meanwhile, certain UAV experts doubt they will be able to glean its secrets.

More likely, Iran will simply use this incident for political posturing. Ahmadinejad took the opportunity to brag about his country's existing UAV knowledge and technology:

"There are people here who have been able to control this spy plane," Ahmadinejad told VTV. "Those who have been in control of this spy plane surely will analyze the plane's system. Furthermore, the systems of Iran are so advanced also, like the system of this plane."

After President Obama requested the drone be returned, state media jumped at the chance to mock the U.S. for being in the role of "the begger."

And what of the whole "spying" issue? Officially, the drone was conducting surveillance over Afghanistan, malfunctioned and crashed onto Iranian soil (140 miles from the Afghan border...). But Iran -- and, OK, certain Americans -- don't buy it. Now that the U.S. has its largest-ever fleet of UAVs, I wouldn't doubt for a second that we conduct surveillance on Iran, especially amid suspicions over their nuclear development program.

Iran isn't about to let the incident go: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the United States owes Iran an apology and needs to admit its crime.

Meanwhile, another U.S. drone reportedly crashed in Seychelles on Tuesday, causing this blogger to wonder who, exactly, is piloting these unmanned drones?

Before SEALs Found Bin Laden, Military Considered Using Crows

It's the type of story that's almost too bizarre to be true. But both military officials and researchers at the University of Washington have confirmed that the U.S. military once considered using flocks of crows to track down Osama bin Laden. 

According to news reports, John Marzluff, a wildlife sciences professor at the university, was contracted years ago by the military to study crows and their ability to recognize human faces.

Crows' innate facial recognition capabilities make them a unique asset -- unless they're trained to track you down of course. 

KING 5 in Seattle reports:

Marzluff and his team wore caveman masks when they captured and tagged crows on the UW campus. To this day, if they wear those masks, they are harassed by flocks of crows following their every step. When they take the masks off, the crows leave them alone.

The military heard of this research and considered the possibility of using crows to recognize missing soldiers or even the world's most wanted terrorist, bin Laden.

Marzluff said he could train the crows to idenfity bin Laden by harassing (or even killing) them while wearing an Osama mask. Over time, he said, "word" would spread to crows around the world. 

Flash Drive Caused the Worst Cyber Attack on U.S. Military

The most serious cyber attack on the U.S. military's networks came from a tainted flash drive in 2008, forcing the Pentagon to review its digital security, a top U.S. defense official said Wednesday. The thumb drive, which was inserted in a military laptop in the Mideast, contained malicious code that "spread undetected on both classified and unclassified systems, establishing what amounted to a digital beachhead, from which data could be transferred to servers under foreign control," Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn wrote in the journal Foreign Affairs.

The code was placed on the drive by "a foreign intelligence agency," Lynn wrote. "It was a network administrator's worst fear: a rogue program operating silently, poised to deliver operational plans into the hands of an unknown adversary."

The Pentagon had never openly discussed the incident, but Lynn chose to reveal the details of the attack as officials try to raise public awareness of the growing threat posed to government computer networks.

The incident served as a wake-up for the Pentagon and prompted major changes in how the department handled digital threats, including the formation of a new cyber military command, Lynn said.

After the 2008 assault, the Pentagon banned its work force from using flash drives, but recently eased the prohibition.

Since the attack, the military has developed methods to uncover intruders inside its network, or so-called "active defense systems," Lynn said.

But he added that drafting rules of engagement for defending against cyber attack was "not easy," as the laws of war were written before the advent of a digital battlefield.

Boeing Unveils Unmanned Spy Plane

Phantom Ray is designed to support potential missions that may include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; suppression of enemy air defenses; electronic attack; strike; and autonomous aerial refueling.

It is scheduled to begin taxi tests this summer. The first flight in December will be followed by up to nine additional flights over approximately six months.

U.S. Military Plans to Upgrade Black Hawk Helicopter to Fly Unmanned by End of Year

The U.S. military is exploring more uses for unmanned systems for surveillance, signals intelligence, precision target designation, mine detection, and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear reconnaissance. According to "Unmanned Aircraft Systems Roadmap," as of October 2008, unmanned aircraft systems (hand-launched systems) have flown almost 500,000 flight hours, unmanned ground vehicles have conducted more than 30,000 missions, detecting and/or neutralizing over 15,000 improvised explosive devices and unmanned maritime systems have provided security to ports.

The Army wants to upgrade its helicopters -- namely the AH-64D Apache Longbow, the CH-47F Chinook and UH-60M Black Hawk -- to be optionally manned. The goal is to fly the UH-60M Black Hawk unmanned by the end of the year.

The Department of Defense estimates by 2025, half of all Army aircraft will be Optionally Piloted Vehicles.