Pentagon officials confirm that the US lost a remotely piloted aircraft during a mission over Afghanistan, but they do not confirm that it is an RQ-170, a new stealthy RPA first publicly revealed Dec. 4, 2009. However, unnamed US defense and intelligence officials tell news media that the RPA went down due to a malfunction in eastern Iran. Iran has claimed it shot down an RQ-170.
Pentagon leaders, eager to move fast and avoid pitfalls that have plagued defense acquisition in the past, are handing authorities and oversight for some of their biggest programs to officers outside the traditional structure. But the Air Force and Space Force four-stars given those responsibilities say they don’t intend their jobs to be a permanent change to the system.
