Iranian drone shot down on Iraq by US Forces

Iranian drone shot down in Iraq by US Forces

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. fighter jets in Iraq have shot down an unmanned Iranian spy drone aircraft, the U.S. military said Monday.

The Iranian aircraft had been flying in Iraqi airspace for 70 minutes before being shot down 60 miles northeast of Baghdad last month, the military said.

"This was not an accident on the part of the Iranians," the U.S. military said in a statement. "The [drone] was in Iraqi airspace for nearly one hour and 10 minutes and well inside Iraqi territory before it was engaged."

Two F-16 fighter jets followed the drone for about an hour before shooting it down, a Pentagon official said.

The drone had no weapons and was strictly a spy aircraft, the official told CNN.

The U.S. military has taken ownership of the drone, which the Pentagon official said is in "pretty good shape."

Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, declined to comment on the allegation and most major state-run media outlets in Iran did not carry news of any incident involving an Iranian drone.

The Bush administration regularly accused Iran of meddling in Iraq and arming fighters, and in 2002 President George W. Bush put Iran in his "axis of evil."

Since President Barack Obama took office he has appeared more conciliatory towards Iran although the country continues to cause U.S. concern over its nuclear ambitions and its role in Iraq.

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[edit on 16-3-2009 by xbranscombex]

Well, I know that Iran and also Turkey are fighting in the PKK, ?, in the Northern Region...

But I'm not sure why Iranian Drones were floating around?
Probably same reason American ones are flying in and aroun Pakistan.

Took 70 minutes for them to shoot it..
Probably playing Tic Tac Toe for whom is gonna shoot it down lol.

The Pilots don't have very much in flight engagement, mostly just targeting ground objects..

So this was fun.

[edit on 16-3-2009 by xbranscombex]

So Iraq was since the illegal invasion planned to become the 52nd state?

I guess the lub towards the yanks are just growing around the world. Good job

reply to post by xbranscombex


Any pictures yet? How about some gun camera footage? Why would Iran need to fly a drone into Iraq? Are they monitoring troop locations?

Sorry to rain on your parade, but the drone was not shot down. The footage should be released in due time, so keep in mind this post. As for the the fighter pilots, well as i have family members who are engaged in this area, i hold the utmost respect to the people flying and maintaining what some might consider a provocative stance or perhaps they are just doing what they are ordered.

Considering the fact, that we/us form the comfort of our homes/office/random connection are able to post our views, it does not represent what exactly is going on in real life. Consider your real life security as a direct result what these and many more like these service men, regardless of nation are doing on a 24/7/365 time frame.

reply to post by on_yur_6


I think you raised a very good point. WHY would Iran fly a drone into Iraq? What Intel could a drone provide that a intelligence agent on the ground could not? Was the drone observing areas inside of U.S. bases? Was it observing government areas? Recon for U.S. troop withdrawal areas? Or just wasting a drone just to say we are watching you neighbor!

reply to post by TurkeyBurgers


How about tactical oversight.

If you have a covert op going on, it's always nice to have a birds eye view of the area, so you know what threats there are and where the checkpoints are.

Being able to observe US troop movements would allow for assessment of force strength and fortified positions, something that a man on the ground cannot do very easily. And if it's up in the air, it can see a heckuva lot of land mass. Just imagine standing on a 50 story skyscraper and looking 360. You can see alot of stuff. Now imagine that skyscraper being 4x as high and able to move...yeah it could be very useful to gather info to pass to a covert operative.

reply to post by mkiii


Right but the Iranians are not stupid. They know our radar capabilities in the Area. Was the drone launched FROM Iran crossing the border into Iraq air space without being detected? Or was the drone launched from inside Iraq? They HAD to know the drone would be detected and removed. It seems to me a waste of a drone. There has to be a much larger story to it than overconfidence. Probing seems ridiculous also. Was the drone active for a longer period of time and was just recently detected right before it was shot down? Too many unanswered questions! Damn crafty Iranians.

There is no need to disbelieve the U.S. statement, despite its implication. The event itself, as reported, is not without precedent. This daring act by the Iranians should also have come as no surprise. At the commencement of this year there were several new developments which affected not just U.S. forces in Iraq, but broader internal and international U.S. policy as well. These developments being the U.S.-Iraq Status of Force Agreement signed by President Bush on 14 December, and the election of Barrack H. Obama as President of the United States.

It would be prudent of Iran to test these new political developments and see if theory holds true in practice. Forget the notion of this being a surveillance mission by Iran, utter nonsense. The first priority for such limited overt action (see stimulus) would be to gain intelligence on the response of the U.S. & Iraq. Not necessary the military response, but the political decisions which underline everything. Thus, you have an unmanned, and unarmed, Iranian military aircraft in sovereign Iraqi airspace conducting an unauthorized flight. On 01 January 2009 the U.S. handed formal control of the Green Zone to Iraq, much was made about a transfer of sovereignty. Do not think this notion was lost upon Iran.

Let us also not forget the sensationalized and misunderstood over flight of the U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) as it transitioned the Straight of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf. In this incident we opted not to shoot down the aircraft, I suspect for a host of reasons, some military in nature, others political & diplomatic. But over flying a ship in commercial & neutral shipping lanes is one thing, sovereign air infringement is something else entirely. Flying undetected from Iran to Baghdad is out of question, not to mention that we can determine if an aircraft is manned or unmanned by electronic means alone, visual conformation is not necessary. We monitored the Iranian flight for such an extended period, I suspect, simply for precaution. The Iranians, I'm sure, expected to lose the aircraft sooner, the fact that they made it to Baghdad and allowed to cruise for a few must have been surprising.

[edit on 16-3-2009 by WestPoint23]

What possible reasonable motive does the US have for doing this? Iran can't browse its own region now due to Zionist pigs? They probably want a war with Iran as per America's true owners Israel wants.

Originally posted by nano219
What possible reasonable motive does the US have for doing this?
Iran can't browse its own region now due to Zionist pigs?

Can my Zionist pig buddies "browse" the region over Tehran in some shiny airplanes too then?

[edit on 16-3-2009 by WestPoint23]

Reality check :

Google Video Link