Iran Breaches U.S. Predator Drone Program

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright December 17, 2011
All Rights Reserved.                                         

                Breaching the Global Positioning Satellite security of the U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel Predator Drone or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle [UAV], Iran boasted about tricking the craft into landing safely on Persian soil.  Launched in 1995, the Predator Drone program has become a key component of U.S. national security, especially in the war on terror.  Predator drone hellfire missile strikes are the U.S. Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency’s primary tool of tracking down and attacking terrorists, especially in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and now Iran.  When the Predator Drone went down in Iran around Dec. 10, the U.S. military attributed it to engine failure rather than a major security breach by the Iranian military.  More information now confirms Iran successfully hacked into the RQ-170’s GPS system, guiding the vehicle to land safely on Iranian ground.

            U.S. military security experts must be very concerned about the apparent security breach now jeopardizing the overall effectiveness of the stealth Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Program.  “If U.S. spy planes continue their aggression, we won’t be idle,” said Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani, Iran’s former defense minister.  “We will continue to hunt down their spy planes,” exposing extreme vulnerability to the military’s Predator Drone operations.  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected Presdient Barack Obama’s Oct. 12 demand to have the robotic flying machine returned.  “The Americans have perhaps decided to give us this plane,” said Ahmandinejad, ignoring Obama’s requests.  “We now have control of this plane,” slapping the U.S. in the face.  Since seizing the U.S. embassy in 1979, Iran has developed U.S. public humiliation into a modern rocket science.

            Behind the scenes, the White House and Pentagon have been secretly drawing up contingency plans for an Iranian attack.  Iran has thumbed its nose at the international community’s demand to halt its nuclear enrichment program, so advanced and technologically sophisticated that most nuclear expert believe Iran will have a workable nuclear device within the next year, if not sooner.  All efforts by the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency have fallen flat.  Today’s Predator Drone security breach represents a direct and provocative threat to U.S. national security.  Former Vice President Dick Cheney said the White House was feckless, “basically limited itself to saying please give it back.”  But juggling so many national security balls, the White House can’t be goaded by disgruntled former VPs into pushing the U.S. into another reckless confrontation.

            Partisan politics have nothing to do with a major national security breach in the U.S. Predator Drone Program.  Military scientists must come up with an urgent security patch to prevent the Iranians—or anyone else—from hijacking the nation’s most potent tool in the war on terror  “The Islamic Republic of Iran’s capture of this spy drown shows the high capabilities of our armed forces,” said Shamkhani, if effect, warning the U.S. and Israel to back off from military threats against Iran’s nuclear program.  Whether admitted to or not, there’s a linkage between ending the Iraq War and potentially escalating conflict with Iran.  If Iran’s technology appears superior the U.S. is going to have difficulty penetrating Iranian air, land and sea defenses.  Capturing the U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel gives Iran more bravado in confronting the coveted U.S. spy plane, warning the U.S. to back off future attacks.

            Given the Pentagon’s initial denial of a security breach, it’s not clear whether the Iranian’s really cracked the Drone’s GPS system or whether there’s a mole inside the program.  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and CIA Director Leon Panetta showed little optimism about Iranian cooperation.  Clinton sees more trouble ahead, hinting, “that the path that Iran seems to be going down is a dangerous one for themselves and the region.”  Showing off the downed drone, Iran sends a loud message to the U.S. and its allies:  They won’t stop enriching uranium or anything else associated with the program, including atomic weapons development.  Before the war drums get pounded, the U.S. must examine seriously the security breach that leaves the Predator Drone program vulnerable.  If a Drone goes down in the future, there must a way to self-destruct.

            U.S. national security experts must urgently evaluate whether or not there’s a mole in the military’s Predator Drone Program.  If a security breach wasn’t responsible for the Iranian hijacking, then the Pentagon must work night-and-day to find the security patch needed to prevent another incident.  It’s just a matter of time before Iran shares its technology with U.S. enemies, especially Pakistan, looking for some way to retaliate against Predator Drone strikes.  “I surely hope the U.S. is using all kind of techniques to spy on Iran.  It’s our enemy,” said terrorism expert Rachel Ehrenfeld.  “The shock is that President [Barack Obama] did not order the immediate destruction of the drone, one of the U.S. most advanced spying technologies,” raising real concerns about the Drone’s security.  Before the war drums beat out of control, more security should help prevent another incident.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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