DEBKAfile – New unmanned US stealth jet based in Afghanistan gathers data in Iran.

December 8, 2009, 2:07 PM (GMT+02:00)

US stealth jet drone in first photo

US Air Force spokesmen confirmed this week that the hitherto secret unmanned, high-altitude stealth jet, the “Beast of Kandahar,” was present at the big US air base of Bagram, in Afghanistan. Photos of the Beast on the Bagram tarmac – outside its regular base at Kandahar near the Iranian and Pakistani borders – appeared in various Internet sites this week.

Designated RQ-170 Sentinel, it is the first jet drone ever developed for military use. France’s EURO Demonstrator is a similar project which will be ready for test flights only in another two years.

Little is known about the Sentinel, which was manufactured by Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Program. USAF spokesmen disclosed only that its new deployment responded to secretary of defense Robert Gates’ request for increased intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support for combatant commanders in Afghanistan.

According to DEBKAfile‘s military and intelligence sources, Washington had a reason for letting the Beast surface at this time in the form of a published photograph and a note about its ability to fly over the borders of Iran, China, India and Pakistan for collecting “useful data about missile tests, telemetry, signals and multi-spectral intelligence. The disclosure came on the heels of Iran’s big air defense exercise for guarding its nuclear sites which ended in the third week of November; it appears to be a message to Tehran that all its war games, especially in intelligence and electronic warfare, were pointless since its skies are wide open to American drone activity against which Iran has no recourse.

Some of the Web sites, including the veteran Aviation Week, speculate about the Sentinel’s configuration and features from the published image, describing it as “a tailless flying wing design” with sensor pods built into the upper surface of each wing.

Its designation denotes an unarmed drone rather than the armed Predator UAV which has been used to fire missiles at terrorist sites on the Pakistan-Afghan border. But this assumption is open to question in view of the impression of “a deep, fat center-body” which could house a bomb or missile bay.

Furthermore, its is painted medium grey like the Predator or Reaper, rather than the dark gray or overall black that would provide better concealment at high altitudes.

Both these features suggest the mysterious Beast of Kandahar may have secret functions other than pure reconnaissance.

Russia to triple Israeli-made drone fleet.

Israeli-made Drone, known as Hermes 450

Leadership: Iran And The Bad Plan.

Iran And The Bad Plan

December 8, 2009: In late November, Iran conducted a five day exercise to see how well its air and ground forces could defend against an air attack. The results were not what they expected.Israel has been threatening such an attack if Iran does not halt its nuclear weapons development. The Iranian exercise had air and air-defense units go through the motions of dealing with a hostile air strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

The Iranian generals who organized the exercise were surprised at how uncoordinated and ill prepared their forces were for such an attack. Communications were spotty (due to equipment failures and poor training), and weapons (aircraft and missile systems) did not perform as expected. The Iranians, it appears, were victims of their own propaganda. For years, Iran has been announcing new weapons, that don’t exist. Same thing with new initiatives in training and tactics.

If you go back and look at the many Iranian announcements of newly developed, high tech, weapons, all you find is a photo op for a prototype. Production versions of these weapons rarely show up. Iranians know that, while the clerics and politicians talk a tough game, they rarely do anything. Even Iranian support of Islamic terrorism has been far less effective than the rhetoric. The Iranians have always been cautious, which is one reason Arabs fear them. When the Iranians do make their move, it tends to be decisive. But at the moment, the Iranians have no means to make a decisive move. Their military is mostly myth, having been run down by decades of sanctions, and the disruptions of the 1980s war with Iraq. Their most effective weapon is bluster, and, so far, it appears to be working.

But the Iranians know that nuclear weapons would make their bluff and bluster much more muscular. Even the suspicion that they had nukes would be beneficial. And that appears to be the current plan. And that’s why Israel is planning to attack. And that’s why the Iranians have their work cut out for them.

Netanyahu tells US Teheran is Israel’s biggest problem | Israel | Jerusalem Post.

Israel’s most challenging strategic problem is the Iranian nuclear program, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told members of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Monday, during which he also painted a pessimistic view of the situation along Israel’s northern border.

Iran’s nuclear power plant in Bushehr, southwest of Teheran.
Photo: AP [file]

SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region |  World

“In the last year, two things have happened: Iran has advanced its military nuclear program, and Iran has lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the international community,” Netanyahu told the committee, adding that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear capabilities was Israel’s “central problem.”

“Our highest interest is in preventing Iran’s [nuclear] armament,” he said.

To that end, Netanyahu added, “there is coordination with America regarding Iran – information and intensive assessment – and diplomatic coordination cannot be ruled out.”

He did, however note that “it is not clear if cooperation by Russia and China against Iran will continue, but at this time, we do have an agreement.”

“The use of the Internet and Twitter against the Iranian regime is a great thing,” said Netanyahu. “In past years, Iran was portrayed as an unpleasant regime, but today there is deep hatred on the part of part of the Iranian nation against the regime. It is trickling out and constitutes a very important resource for the State of Israel.”

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Maj-Gen. Yossi Baidatz, the head of Military Intelligence’s research division, told committee members that Iran has succeeded in enriching 1,800 kg. of uranium, which is “more or less enough for one-and-a-half nuclear bombs.”

Iranian proxy Hizbullah, Netanyahu added, has also increased in its power and influence.

“If before, we related to Hizbullah as a militia on the side, today it has become the real Lebanese army,” he said.

Hizbullah “has supplanted the Lebanese army as the significant force. It is arming itself and organizing itself like a regular army. The Lebanese government and Hizbullah are growing interconnected, and they will share joint responsibility for any attack on Israel,” the prime minister warned.

Baidatz presented the committee with information that tens of thousands of Hizbullah fighters and rockets were deployed both north and south of the Litani River, and noted that the rockets currently deployed threatened the southern parts of Israel as well as the north.

In light of the information, Netanyahu went on to say that UN Resolution 1701, which was formulated following the Second Lebanon War in an attempt to prevent the re-armament of Hizbullah, had “totally collapsed.”

“It did not withstand the test of reality,” he said.

The prime minister drew parallels between the failed resolution and any possible final status agreement regarding the West Bank, asserting that “that is why any future arrangement in Judea and Samaria must be better and withstand the test of reality. Any future entrance of rockets and missiles to Judea and Samaria must be prevented as part of a future agreement. There must be direct oversight by Israel on future security arrangements, something that didn’t happen in Gaza or Lebanon.”

Netanyahu also addressed negotiations with Syria, reiterating that Israel was willing to engage in direct contact with Damascus, but that if a third-party moderator was necessary, that Israel would prefer France over Turkey, the previous choice for mediator.