Revealed: The RQ-170 Stealth Drone -- Or Iranian Hoax [UPDATE: It's Real!]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_uv6Welnco

I’m sure if this were really a hoax, we’d have embarrassed the Iranians by now. But damn if that thing doesn’t look like it’s made out of papier-mâché. It must be the RAM coating, but I just can’t shake the thought that it looks like something whipped up quickly by some Iranian kids for Science Fair.

UPDATE: The more I look at this video, the more convinced I am that it’s fake. Just look at the color. Some sharp Iranian heard that the Air Force buys “gold-plated planes,” and paints his little toy gold. The fit and finish are not up to milspec. It’s too small. That grille would have the RCS of a flying battleship. It’s just wrong.

So here’s what happened, IMO.

We lost command & control of an RQ-170, which then faithfully self-destructed over Iran.

The Iranians, looking for a PR coup, made themselves a toy Sentinel, which they then claimed to have somehow captured.

Sound kosher to you?

UPDATE: With a tip of the hat to Greg Hill, a “senior administration official” is telling Fox News it’s the real deal.