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One American analyst ridiculed Iran’s capability, telling Defense News that the loss was “like dropping a Ferrari into an ox-cart technology culture.” An ox-ca
by sehugg 15y ago
One American analyst ridiculed Iran’s capability, telling Defense News that the loss was “like dropping a Ferrari into an ox-cart technology culture.”
An ox-cart technology culture that is allied with China and Russia. I hope this kind of hubris is counterbalanced by more realistic attitudes in the defense world.
- marshray 15y agoWasn't OXCART the code word for the 60's spy plane program that operated the U-2 and SR-71? Hmmm... http://www.paperlessarchives.com/a12.html http://www.paperlessarchives.com/a12.html
- anigbrowl 15y agoExcellent catch, and linkage. Thanks.
- 46Bit 15y agoIndeed. It seems to me that even if Iran fails to get much useful out of it, there'll be buyers queuing up for it ready to pay anything.
- MichaelApproved 15y agoPayment would be in the form of alliances and protection from US aggression.
- azernik 15y agoI wouldn't downplay Iran's technological capability as this anonymous analyst seems to. By Middle Eastern (and developing world) standards, it's a fairly technologically advanced society - GDP per capita 4 times that of Egypt, 3 times that of Iraq - and this is a country where (unlike, say, Iraq in the 80s or Syria in the 2000s) its nuclear development program and missiles are indigenous. That said, I'm sure China and Russia would also pay very well in both cash and political favors to get a look at the drone, which might end up being more worthwhile to the Iranians than pulling it apart themselves.
- skeptical 15y agoI don't know if you visited the countries you mentioned nor if you have any idea of their academic standards for example. Many people in here are used to american technological society and have no idea what it's like in other parts of the world. In countries like Iran the huge majority of the population never red a book, can't really read and write much more than the very basics, most of the people haven't assimilated the concept of multiplication, just to give you an example. I'm from a country way more developed than iran in technological/scientific terms and I always have trouble to explain to Americans, Canadians, British, Germans, etc. how non tech-savy other parts of the world are. I wouldn't downplay _the lack of_ technological capability. That's more like it. I don't know what happen with that drone, but so far I've seen zero evidence and 100% speculation. That is a fact. I might be wrong, but there's no single bit of proof of anything.
- azernik 15y agoI've been to Egypt (a few weeks pre-revolution) - it was shockingly ill-run and undeveloped. I've also been to Turkey - judging from the statistics and technical accomplishments (adjusting for sanctions), a country on a similar level of development to Iran. The difference was astounding. The general level of education and development seemed lower than in developed and semi-developed societies (my frames of reference being, respectively, the United States and Israel) but it was most of the way there. More significantly, (though anecdotally) I know in the Bay Area several Iranians - educated up to Bachelor's level in Iranian universities - who are very capable of keeping up at the top of their fields.