Iranian drone claimed to have flown undetected over US fleet
Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 4:19 pm<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>If it happened as reported, I doubt it was undetected. Rather, by not reacting this time, the US may be encouraging more provocative actions from Iran that could be spun as a casus belli.<br></em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Iranian drone plane buzzes U.S. aircraft carrier in Persian Gulf</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>19:06 | 30/05/2006<br><br>TEHRAN, May 30 (RIA Novosti) - A pilotless Iranian reconnaissance plane circled for 25 minutes over a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf before returning safely to its base, a senior Iranian official said Tuesday.<br><br>"Our pilotless reconnaissance plane flew over the USS Ronald Reagan in the Persian Gulf unnoticed to the Americans for 25 minutes," the official said, according to Iran's Fars agency.<br><br>He did not say when the flight took place, but added that U.S. radars picked up the unmanned aerial vehicle after 25 minutes, and that four USAF fighters and two helicopters were scrambled to intercept it. However, the Iranian plane had already crossed the border back into Iran and landed at its base.<br><br>"This points to holes in the U.S. military reconnaissance systems deployed in the Persian Gulf," the Iranian official said.<br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://en.rian.ru/onlinenews/20060530/48833304.html">Novosti</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> <p></p><i></i>