Aircraft Copies Captured U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel

The government of Iran has rolled out what it says is its latest UAV that it reverse-engineered from a U.S. RQ-170 that it captured in 2011. While the U.S. aircraft is a surveillance platform, Iran claims to have uncovered the "secrets" of the aircraft, and given it the capability to carry weapons.

Under the headline "America's nightmare has become reality," The Fars News Agency in Iran said that the aircraft is smaller than the U.S. UAV that was captured, but it has "bombing capability to attack the U.S. warships in any possible battle," according to a report in the Christian Science Monitor.

The UAV was first shown Sunday at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Exhibition. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was given a briefing on the reverse-engineering process that led to the aircraft's production. He called it a "sweet day."

However, the aircraft has yet to get its wheels off the ground. An IRGC officer said that the first test flight would come "soon," and that two more aircraft are being built.

(Image from the Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader)

FMI: www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/ir