Iran releases decrypted footage from US' RQ-170 drone

I did a search and found 2 old threads stating Iran decrypted the videos but did not release it.
Breaking News : Iran captures intruding US drone over Persian Gulf waters
Data on downed US drone decrypted: IRGC Cmdr.

Skip to around 11:00 to see the video that was released.



I remember hearing about this. So Iran wasn't lying when they said they decrypted the video from the crashed drone. But then again, they could've faked the video. Its been a while since the crash.

what do you think?

I have to say, for a "top of the line UAV" that's a pretty crappy video resolution. It's obvious that it's from a US base, because there's a Predator, and what appears to be a Global Hawk sitting next to it. But I question whether this was really from the Sentinel. I would expect the Sentinel to have a much higher resolution camera. The part where it was in flight, you couldn't even tell what was on the ground below it, except fields.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
I have to say, for a "top of the line UAV" that's a pretty crappy video resolution. It's obvious that it's from a US base, because there's a Predator, and what appears to be a Global Hawk sitting next to it. But I question whether this was really from the Sentinel. I would expect the Sentinel to have a much higher resolution camera. The part where it was in flight, you couldn't even tell what was on the ground below it, except fields.

That was my thoughts also, but I wondered if that might be a cheap camera to monitor the landing gear, and they haven't been able to decode the high definition data.. but that's just speculation. If they want to prove this is real, they should release all of the data publicly to prove that the US has been sending drones over Iran for a long time now.

I don't think Iran is as primitive as people think, it looks like they studied up on exploiting the weakness in other countries technologies. If they are as good at cyber war as they say, then they might already be ahead in the game, it's not like our ever loving government would fess up.

reply to post by ugie1028


Iran decrypted footage did they? Being that I was a cryptologist in the USN & understand how the military encrypts their data I call BS on Iran.

But then again, did anyone need my verification to call Iran out on its lies?

nah

reply to post by eXia7


It's supposed to be a FLIR camera in a belly turret, but I got to see a FLIR camera in the 1990s that had resolution just as good or better than that camera.

I know the Iranians are being seriously underestimated. They might not be able to defeat the US in a straight up conflict, but they can make it hurt.

well so much for "they lied"

!

Originally posted by Zaphod58
reply to post by eXia7

 

It's supposed to be a FLIR camera in a belly turret, but I got to see a FLIR camera in the 1990s that had resolution just as good or better than that camera.

I know the Iranians are being seriously underestimated. They might not be able to defeat the US in a straight up conflict, but they can make it hurt.

With regards to the quality of the footage from the on board FLIR, you have to keep in mind I think that you're watching a youtube video at 240p no?

reply to post by minkmouse


That's true, but I would expect a little better detail on the people that were so close to the camera. And if this was for taxi and takeoff, as I've heard claimed in some places, why put it where the nose gear blocks it? And why focus so much on the people as it's heading to wherever? It's just odd really. I'm not saying it's faked, because the RQ-170 was a fill in UAV for a later project, but I just would expect more from it, with the advances made since the 1990s. It also adds up that this was Kandahar, so it's entirely possible that it is real (I suspect it is honestly), just some things about it are rather odd.

Why was America flying drones over Iran? How many drones do they do this with and how often? kinda rude dont ya think... considering how America would react if Iran flew drones over America ... But I guess as long as Americans view them as lesser people, they can treat them like lesser people...

reply to post by ImaFungi


Actually, some of them don't even have to go over Iranian territory. The Global Hawk and the U-2 both fly so high they can use a side scan camera and look hundreds of miles into Iran, without ever once entering their territory. Some have gone in by accident, others deliberately. In the case of the Sentinel, I suspect that it malfunctioned near the Iranian border, and just kept going into Iranian territory.

Originally posted by ImaFungi
Why was America flying drones over Iran? How many drones do they do this with and how often? kinda rude dont ya think... considering how America would react if Iran flew drones over America

... But I guess as long as Americans view them as lesser people, they can treat them like lesser people...

I don't think rude is a word in the dictionary of the people involved in espionage. While I'm sure there are some Americans who view Iranians as lesser people but they would be media driven sheep and given the right feed from the media, they would hate themselves. There is, I'm convinced, a section of the American people who do view them as human beings and I think that number is growing. Whether the people running the show see them as a lesser people or not is unclear, perhaps from their angle, Iranian people are merely trees in the way of some future shopping mall.

reply to post by ImaFungi


Tit for tat if you ask me. The Iranians are/were developing their own stealth drone.

What do you think that would be used for?

It is cobbled together footage from other sources. They made a glitch in video editing that gives it away. They make the video cut just a second to late, and it gives you a brief gimps of the next video clip on the source they was taking it from. At 1.33, you see a quick glimpse of a building right when it explodes from a missile strike.



The sentinel drone does not carry weapons.

It is operational footage from armed drone missions.

Originally posted by Chadwickus
reply to post by ImaFungi

 

Tit for tat if you ask me. The Iranians are/were developing their own stealth drone.

What do you think that would be used for?

Enriching uranium somehow.

/sarc

reply to post by Mr Tranny


Nice catch.

Need to change the part of the title to Forges decrypted footage decrypted footage from US' RQ-170.

Seems that Iran is trying hard to make it look like its powerful... failing horribly. they need a few pro video editors.

reply to post by Mr Tranny


Is this the shot you mean?



Figured I'd post it up so someone like Zaphod might be able to discern something from it...

Infrared camera?

Well as far as this footage coming from the RQ - quite possibly
With regards to the resolution and clarity, you need to consider the atmospherics present such as haze dust and mist
Many istar assets regardless of capabilities have struggled in afghan, even more so at lower altitudes where the mist and dust lingers ( naturally dependant on time of year )
I know this from operating many surveillance devices myself, including operating the surveillance balloons and sitting in with the drone operators themselves or monitoring the live feeds from FOBS or ops rooms

What I can confirm though is that atleast 3 of the clips contained in the vid in the op are indeed of Kandahar air base, even showing the drone taxiing into its hangar area, an area that is then shown on a colour air phot
I can confirm that that area is indeed where the US drones are housed, but not just the RQ's - pred and reaper also are housed there, so I can't narrow down what drone it may be that way.

But the 2 hangars he indicates in the vid ( the 2 on the right hand side ) unless they have moved the area around, those 2 hangars were not where the RQ's were kept


Edit
just thinking a bit more with regards to the clarity
We had problems with focus on many devices and cameras, constantly having to re focus/calibrate them, the effect wasn't so bad at longer ranges, but up close the blur was very noticeable so this may be the case in this footage, but also something to consider is the focal distance, naturally these cameras are not designed to observe objects close up and I'm not sure if they do have a minimum effective focal distance and what that distance may be

terrible resolution, is there a better version anywhere?

reply to post by Chadwickus


Yes, and notice that the time and location information on the top two corners of the image are blacked out.

That means it is officially released camera footage

reply to post by Mr Tranny


The footage is from a documentary. You have to realise that they will be using some footage already out there to make the point and fill out the story (Stock footage). The footage of the landing and taxi looks like Kandahar air base? Probably footage recovered from the hold-up memory?

See from 01:32. Footage of the Iranians recovering the RQ-170.

02:22 shows more footage claimed recovered from the RQ-170.



Images from the recovery by the Iranians.