Iran did not down the U.S. spy drone said , U.S. House Intelligence Committee chairman

RQ-170 Sentinel downed by Iran 

Iran did not down the U.S. spy drone captured by Iranian armed forces earlier this month, U.S. House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Mike Rogers said Dec. 13.

"I am satisfied in this particular case that no outside force brought this drone down," said Rogers, R-Mich., speaking at a conference sponsored by the Foreign Policy Initiative. "I will say without hesitation that this came down due to a technical problem."

On Dec. 12, President Barack Obama made public the U.S. request for Iran to return the drone.

"We've asked for it back. We'll see how the Iranians respond," Obama said during a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

According to news reports, Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, Iran's defense minister, said Dec. 13 that the aircraft is Iran's property.

While Rogers said he is confident Iran did not down the drone, the United States should still be worried about its potential to do so via cyber attack in the future.

"Anytime that folks with ill intentions toward the United States come into possession of our technology is a bad day for the United States," he said.

However, while Iran tries to reverse-engineer the technology, the United States will be busy engineering new designs, he said.

Defense News