Drone Crash in Iran Reveals Secret U.S. Surveillance Effort

December 7, 2011

Author: 

Scott Shane and David E. Sanger

Publication: 

New York Times

Iranian officials claimed that a stealth drone operated by the C.I.A. crashed inside Iranian territory, nearly 140 miles from the Afghan border. The RQ-170 Sentinel drone was reportedly part of a U.S. effort to collect intelligence on Iran's suspected nuclear sites. U.S. officials have only confirmed that a reconnaissance drone was lost while on a mission in western Afghanistan.