Iran’s copy of a US drone aircraft captured in 2011 is inferior to the American original, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, as it downplayed claims from Tehran this week that the replica had taken its first flight.
Asked about the Iranian replica, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren quipped: “Replica being the operative word there.”
“There is no way it matches American technology,” Warren told a news briefing. He did not cite evidence to back up his assertion.
In December 2011, Iran said it had captured a US RQ-170 Sentinel reconnaissance drone in eastern Iran that had been reported lost by US forces in neighboring Afghanistan. The aircraft is manufactured by US defense technology company Lockheed Martin
In a video posted this week by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei voiced satisfaction after seeing a replica of the drone, saying: “Today is a very sweet and unforgettable day for me.”
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