Cloning The Drones! Iranian Bloviation at it's Best! (weapons, military, the best)

[rifleman]

Today Iran has officially claimed they have back-engineered our US Military drone that they shot down or that soft-landed last year in their territory.

How likely is that? I mean, the digital algorithms used to control it are proprietary, and full of security routines. And even if they do back-engineer the materials and the overall design, (unlikely, or unavailable for them to manufacture a true performance clone from...), how will they then control it?

We will have the Mk II version, (or more likely, the Mk. V version..) while they will be stuck with the old-style Mk. I version! We'll just shoot it down whenever (or if ever) they actually launch one, and the cost to just lose one is a bit prohibitive to just loose them, one after the next!

Perhaps we'll just take them over once they are in flight, huh? And perhaps command it to bomb or attack it's owners, then burrow itself into the ground at about 250 mph?

I look forward to this epic failure! (Congrats, Iran! You sure gots us this time

[stillkit]

It's very likely. Which countries have always been the best at copying others weapons? China and Russia. And, which countries are supporting Iran? China and Russia.

Get the picture?

[rifleman]

Yes, I did think of that one, but remember, we also fiscally buried the USSR of old by out-teching/spending them. Their Bear bomber is a clone of the B-29 or B-50, but with turbo-props and swept wings (a supersonic turboprop? What were they thinking? Maybe they intended to upfit it later with fan jets??) They still fly that thing, and apparently it IS a real bear to be in!

I surely don't like that these guys got our technology, and it also really burned me up when the Pakistani government sold our high-tech stealth helo that was lost when we got bin Laden. What was with that? That sort of disloyal behavior should be rewarded with a permanent political "taint" on our near-future relations with them, militarily speaking of course.

Interestingly, we've actually retired the F-117. It's so old-tech now (detectable and all..) and we've really moved on in the stealth biz. So I'm betting we'll just out-advance anything Iran can ever come up with! Building very effective and advanced über-high-tech aircraft is not a game for the technically suppressed and fiscally limited. and even Russia and China have their $$$ limits these days!

I really do think it would be quite good fun to "accidentally" take over their clone-a-drone over once they have confidently decided they have it all "in hand", and proceed to overfly our facilities, perhaps to drop a small "lesson bomb" on us for a change.

But then, we take it over, having listened to and decoded their instructions and it's code-specific responses (in-flight "truthing"...), and ram it right back into their own control tower! Hee heee!

Well, do have a "peaceful" day, guys!