Well, it’s official: The Beast has been captured

I’ll admit that I didn’t believe it at first.

Over the past few years, Iran’s state media has issued numerous statements claiming to have downed American drones buzzing about their skies.  But when pressed, Iran’s claims have turned out to be little more than hot air.

So when Iranian state media announced that the Revolutionary Guards had downed an American drone–a stealthy RQ-170, no less–most defense writers treated Iran’s announcement with more than a little skepticism.  Even after video surfaced of the captured drone–placed on garish display against a backdrop of an American flag bedecked with skulls–many still doubted its veracity.

It was then that I turned to America’s most trusted source in unmanned news:  Twitter.

Still, not everyone’s convinced that this is the real RQ-170 Sentinel drone, Tweeting away from a prison in Tehran. One of the leading skeptics is the First Lady of Drones, herself:

Now, of course, let’s not jump to conclusions too hastily:  after all, an Al-Jazeera report reveals that fake Twitter accounts are spreading like a pandemic.  But even if Iran did capture an American stealth drone–and it looks as if this is the case–the fear-mongering may be overblown.  After all, the Soviet Union didn’t fly manned aircraft over the United States after shooting down Gary Powers and his U-2 spy plane.

This, too, shall pass.