Iran releases first (somehow suspicious) video of its RQ-170 stealth drone copy in flight

Eventually, a video allegedly showing the copy of Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) drone manufactured by reverse-engineering of U.S. Sentinel drone captured in December 2011 was released.

On Nov. 10, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, announced that a domestic version of the RQ-170 drone, modified to carry out both bombing and reconnaissance missions, had made its maiden flight.

“The footage of its flight will be released soon,” he told reporters.

Eventually, a video showing the copy of the Sentinel flying somewhere over Iran, filmed both from the ground and from an accompanying helicopter has been released.

The footage of the flying drone looks genuine; what seems to be a bit weird is the sequence of the RQ-170 landing on the runway: more than a UAV, the aircraft moves and reacts to the remote pilot’s input as a small remotely piloted scale model….

Since the first prototype was a smaller copy of the Sentinel (60% the size of the original RQ-170) which flew about four months ago, one might wonder whether the landing drone depicted in the footage is not the full scale replica but the smaller original prototype.

Furthermore, some frames of the landing video seem to be computer generated.

Judge by yourself at min 06:49.

H/T to Soufiane Nourredine for the heads-up

 

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

15 Comments

  1. Common guys! It’s an RC model with no doubt. The size, the shape and the way it flies and the altitude all say that this is an RC plane with not so much capabilities useful in a real combat situation. Anyway, it seems members of IRGC Cyber Arm, have become so active in this weblog right after this video was released _ they’re upvoting themselves too! To them all I say that this footage and the claims behind it all are so ridiculous…. Just a shame for you and your commanders…. And that being patriotic or nationalist doesn’t mean to believe and support any claims by a semi-military Dictatorship taking your country under its control. True patriotism means opposing and protesting whoever is ruining your country’s name and prestige.

  2. I like how they used the helicopter for perspective manipulation. Also… Anyone else think that they have the remote control setup from inside the copter?

  3. Ok I have been Visiting this website way to long not to finally make a comment on it because of the ignorant and quite laughable statements that people make on here. I normally would not comment on here because the majority of people here have no credentials to understand whats really going on in these articles, but I’m bored and am excited to stir some knowledge and ideas up. First off, Dawnbreaking (which we all know is really a reference to your favorite romance novel about Vampires and Werewolves), you use the same excuse for why this video is legitimate by saying that what Iran says has to be true because of “when they brought down the RQ-170 in one piece.” Lets put things into perspective. Russia, a substantial threat during the Cold War with their technology, only shot down ONE of the U.S. secret reconnaissance planes in the U2 Spyplane. It was destroyed upon being hit by a missile and then colliding with the ground. During the Cold War, that was the most secretive aircraft to have been shot down, and yet the Russians were only able to get pieces of it together. Since then, the U2 has flown without being shot down and it was created in the 50’s. Since the creation of the U2 spy plane, the creation of SR-71 and F-117 were created. The SR-71 flew over Russia, and when it was detected the plane flew so high and so fast that it never had any real threats occur to it from the enemy. The F-117 has been shot down ONE time by chance, not because of detection, and it too was mostly destroyed upon hitting the ground. All these aircraft were made by Skunk Works and have a fabulous record against the most formidable of foes. Since then we have moved our Recon and spy capabilities to UAV’s and Satellites for threats we declare are unsafe for manned vehicles to travel. But as we have seen over the years, Iran hardly has what i would call a formidable Detection system, nor do they have a formidable counter attack system. So whats my point: if we wanted intel on where Iran would take and develop its most secretive of items, how would we do that if we cannot see it from a satellite or UAV being that the most secretive of bases would be underground? Well, what if we took a UAV (or multiple UAV’s) and claimed they were of the utmost importance with the U.S.’s most advanced spy capabilities and placed in Iranian hands. We even claimed it so secretive that we stamp the name “skunk works” on it. We put in some hardware to make it a bit difficult for the Iranian scientist to decode, all the while the UAV itself is simply being used to track and locate where Irans secret bases are. Think about it; The U.S. Sends it’s most formidable stealth recon UAV into a not so formidable detection capable area and somehow the aircraft gets brought down in a field with quite literally no damage to it. The first people to show up are not military units, but civilians. So let me get this straight, the Iranians were able to bring down a countries *who has been in the spy game for over 70 years* most secretive aircraft using 1970’s to 80’s counter electronics measures and allow it to land with none but a scratch on it? And yet all the previous formidable countries that brought down U.S. secretive spy and recon aircraft had to use state of the art (of its time) detection systems and could only bring it down in pieces? Something seems a bit off here. I could go on forever with this, but i think you get the point. Also, this “reversed engineered RQ-170” that is filmed is not much of an aircraft if its chase plane is a helicopter. It must be really really slow. Like Radio Control Model Slow.

    • Well, if someone has no credentials at all….its you. A lot of typing and a lot of bullshit. Typical american.

      • I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free! And at least I can get an actual education to think for myself. Now, if you don’t want to look as ignorant as you already have made yourself look by making statements with no background or substance, how do you know I have no credentials? And what in this response does not make sense to you? And I dare you to make a response without bringing down a country that is not your own and respond with facts that can back up your statement. God bless you in the name of Jesus!

        • I Read your comment, i guess you watch a lot of fiction & spy Movies and TV Series like Homeland. believe me, the real world is something else. united state is not the only place that have smart people! as a matter a fact many of your elite scientists are from another countries, specially from Iran. so why is so hard for you to believe that Iranian are capable to brought down spyplans? because you are americans? yea i already knew that, but its not a good reason. watching TV is not a good hobby, because what media shows to you, is not the reality, try to do something else, go out, find few friends, be happy:)

          • Once again, someone that cannot actually answer with any background or evidence! Homeland? That’s cute! Im a pilot based out of Tyndall AFB. What’s your day job? Have a great day and may Jesus bless you! Ps. We are excited about seeing Russians fly in the gulf ;)

        • Don’t try to talk this way to prove that America is a real true legal country or freedom does really exists in there.
          First of all if America is really a symbol of freedom so she should hold an elections to see that if the real owners of America (the Indians) are satisfied with you to stay in there country or not.
          And if America is the real truth symbol of justice then why the Negroes that were kidnapped from Africa and brought by force to America are the most lowest and poor Social class in America (if you don’t believe me you can go to Washington DC and watch the homeless there or go to any downtown in any state that you like).
          And if America is really feeling sorry for the Jews and wants to send them back to middle east to take back there lands that belonged to them thousands of years ago so she can just give back America to there real owners and bring back all the Negroes to there home land Africa and help Africa to solve this starvation and ending the illiteracy in Africa and force the UK to give back the price of all the oil and all the wealth plundered by her to the real owners of them(I mean the countries that were colonized by her) and stop her of being proud of what she is now cause it’s built on million of humans and nations blood in these few hundred years.
          so see my friend things or not as you think.

        • Don’t try to talk this way to prove that America is a real true legal country or freedom does really exists in there.

          First of all if America is really a symbol of freedom so she should
          hold an elections to see that if the real owners of America (the
          Indians) are satisfied with you to stay in there country or not.
          And
          if America is the real truth symbol of justice then why the Negroes
          that were kidnapped from Africa and brought by force to America are the
          most lowest and poor Social class in America (if you don’t believe me
          you can go to Washington DC and watch the homeless there or go to any
          downtown in any state that you like).
          And if America is really
          feeling sorry for the Jews and wants to send them back to middle east to
          take back there lands that belonged to them thousands of years ago so
          she can just give back America to there real owners and bring back all
          the Negroes to there home land Africa and help Africa to solve this
          starvation and ending the illiteracy in Africa and force the UK to give
          back the price of all the oil and all the wealth plundered by her to the
          real owners of them(I mean the countries that were colonized by her)
          and stop her of being proud of what she is now cause it’s built on
          million of humans and nations blood in these few hundred years.
          so see my friend things or not as you think.

    • That actually sounds good, never really thought about it that way (both the Twilight and RQ-170 theory).

      *IF* that were to be true, i guess you could call United States “Troll of the century”.

      • Well, trolling isn’t a bad thing if it works for the benefit of national security. Trust me, We have done it before! Presidents don’t request secretive things that fall into the wrong hands…. they deny, deny, deny.

    • Yawn. Credentials? Let me break your response down for you like you did this Iranian incident. My massive education and real life experiences have allowed me to deduce that you’re a nobody with a 3rd grade education. How do I know that? Any professional would be aware of paragraphs and know how to use them. He would then do so…

      Go home. You’re about to miss 3 billy goats who aren’t paying their taxes.

  4. ah, I see the iranian propaganda drones have appeared to extol the glorious capacity of the iranian nation to produce badly reverse-engineered and hilariously PR-stunt aircraft/ships.

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