Pakistan Lets China View US Stealth Technology 297
Oswald McWeany writes "Tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan have moved up a notch in light of news that Pakistan allowed China to examine the downed stealth helicopter used in the operation to kill Osama bin Laden. Pakistan also provided Chinese intelligence with samples of the 'stealth skin.' 'Pakistan enjoys a close relationship with China, which is a major investor in telecommunications, ports and infrastructure in the country.'"
No surprise. (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm sure this wasn't really a surprise to the US. That's why the seals spent valuable time doing their best to destroy the helicopter.
Red Herring? (Score:2, Insightful)
Is it possible that the US left that helicopter there in order to mislead interested parties on stealth countermeasures and development?
Might that helicopter be, in essence, a doomed spy?
Re:Oh boo hoo (Score:0, Insightful)
heh, and I love when the US show their stupidly high elitist ego by saying they created every technology they use.
Re:Oh boo hoo (Score:5, Insightful)
Boo hoo, indeed.
There is no need for the US to keep financing the Pakistani military. The upper echelons of their military is living high on the hog, based on the US aid, and and as result has no incentive to end the war. The upper echelons are not suffering any pain, it's the lower echelons and the normal people that are paying the price. And since they know what the upper echelons are doing, they hate them (and the US) for that. Nukes or no nukes, there is no reason for the US to keep the river of money flowing, certainly not in these times. Leave Pakistan to its own devices. Their military knows what the Mossad, the Indians and their proxies will do them and their families if they let things get out of hand.
Re:No surprise. (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm sure the SEALs destroyed the stuff that really matters. Stealth technology is not new. China has already started testing their own prototype of a stealth plane [wsj.com]. Will the Chinese learn something from what was left behind? Maybe. Maybe not.
I suspect that if this technology was so uber-secret, we would have saturated the place with enough ordinance to blow it into dust. So either it's not so terribly secret (the SEALs destroying what needed to be destroyed) or there was a plan to leave it behind specifically to mislead. Either way, I'd suggest this is a tempest in a teacup.
Caveats (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:that fail part at high speed or stop lightning (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Oh boo hoo (Score:5, Insightful)
And the deal going the other way was to A) not harbor a wanted criminal, and B) assist in finding said criminal. They failed on both counts.
Re:So China has samples of the stealth skin? (Score:5, Insightful)
Years ago, we discussed this in my organic chemistry class during a lab exercise using GC-MS (gas chromatography - mass spectrometry). Just because you know what something is made of does not mean you can replicate the process that makes it. That is why things that matter a great deal of money to certain businesses such as the formula for coca-cola or the colonel's 11 special spices are still secure despite their wide-spread availability. Things may have changed, but it still seems like most of material science can be compared to one way functions so widely used in cryptography. It is relatively easier to make something by putting things together than it is to reverse the process in a meaningful way.
but, but, but... (Score:4, Insightful)
The Corporate states of America ran Russia out of money, now they're doing the same to US.
Long live the banksters! May they fly like the American flag, hanging from a pole.