Since late 1970, stealth technology has been at the heart of U.S. efforts to improve the survivability of military aircraft, according to Military Watch. Stealth aircraft are generally divided into two categories: flying wing designs and standard fighter designs. Although the latter are difficult to lock on to missiles, they are relatively easy to spot, especially L-band radars. The flying wing design includes the B-2 stealth strategic bomber, the B-21 raider that will soon replace it. Although stealth aircraft have been shot down several times, notably the F-117 over Yugoslavia in 1999, the wing stealth aircraft have only been shot down once outside the defensive zone. On December 5, 2011, Iran not only successfully detected the latest U.S. flying wing stealth aircraft, the RQ-170, but also successfully captured it.
【RQ-170 Stealth Drone】
The RQ-170 is very similar to the B-2 stealth bomber that entered service in 1997, but the RQ-170 is more advanced, smaller in size, and has a smaller radar cross-section. The aircraft was designed for high-priority reconnaissance missions as a replacement for the retired SR-71 Blackbird in 1999, and when it entered service in 2007, the RQ-170 was probably the most stealthy aircraft in the world, with the aim of penetrating deep into enemy airspace for reconnaissance without detection. In the early 1910s, iran's development of nuclear weapons was a major Concern for the West before the signing of the Iran nuclear deal, and Iran's nuclear facilities were closely protected by various radar devices and F-14 fighter jets, so reconnaissance missions for these nuclear facilities were assigned to RQ-170, and RQ-170 support facilities were reportedly operating in Afghanistan from 2007. The aircraft has a relatively high endurance and is equipped with a photoelectric sensor kit and a phased array radar.
【RQ-170 captured by Iran】
On December 5, 2011, an Iranian cyberwarfare force discovered and captured an RQ-170 deep inside Iranian airspace, despite fierce skepticism from the West, which claimed that the drone had been shot down by passive energy weapons. The United States responded to the loss of a valuable aircraft by demanding that Tehran return it. The footage quickly proved that the plane landed in Iran intact. Iranian officials lashed out at U.S. violations of its airspace and refused, with Iranian Defense Minister Ahmed Wahid saying on December 13 of that year that "instead of apologizing to Iran, the United States brazenly demanded the return of the drone." The U.S. response has also sparked controversy at home, with former Vice President Dick Cheney slamming the Obama administration's inaction and saying the U.S. should immediately destroy drones to prevent its technology from being accessed by potential adversaries.
Despite Iran's announcement of plans to reverse engineer the RQ-170 drone, Western analysts initially believed that Iran's defense sector was not mature enough to reap enough benefits. In fact, the loss of the RQ-170 may be the most sensitive military technology that the United States has fallen into the hands of the other side since the end of the Cold War, and Iran has not only launched drones based on similar designs since 2014, but also continued to launch a new generation of advanced flying wing stealth drones. Perhaps the most notable example is the fact that in February 2018, an Iranian reconnaissance drone derived from RQ-170 technology (possibly Saegheh) was sent to Israeli airspace for a mission.
【China Attack-11 Stealth Drone】
Since then, Iran has launched Shahed 181 and Shahed 191 flying wing drones that can use precision-guided weapons, which provides an effective means to make up for the weakness of the country's manned fighters. In addition, it is very likely that China or other defense partners who are working with Iran to confront the United States will receive technology from the Iranian RQ-170 or even directly participate in the study of the captured RQ-170. A decade later, China began deploying its own flying wing stealth drones, most notably the Attack-11, which is expected to be more capable than drones or RQ-170s in service with Iran. Russia has also launched the Okhotnik stealth drone with a flying wing design, which was first tested in 2019 and is likely to benefit from technology sharing with Iran.
Any potential U.S. adversary is unlikely to deploy stealth aircraft more advanced than the United States in the five years after 2011, which has potential value for developing effective countermeasures. Russia and Iran have worked together to build radar networks capable of detecting such aircraft by 2030. The U.S. began to reduce its reliance on the RQ-170 and put its successor, the RQ-180, into service. Little is known about the new aircraft, but the RQ-180 is funded through the Air Force's classified budget. Presumably, the RQ-180 can also perform offensive electronic warfare. However, the RQ-170's losses have largely narrowed the gap between the U.S. and its adversaries in stealth and drone technology, meaning that the RQ-180's dominance in today's flying-wing drones is far from certain.
Author: Kong Xin
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