Iran Unveils Flying Saucer Using Old B-Movie Stock Photo

ChronoFish writes "The FARS news agency and a host of others are reporting on Iran claiming to have created a flying saucer-like drone. There is one small problem however. The press release photos from the state-run news service are from a movie."

Comments

Stupid slashdot editors

[Anonymous Coward]

TFA said it looks like a b-movie photo not that it IS from a movie.

Its just an experimental UAV.

Re:Stupid slashdot editors

[Low Ranked Craig]

http://www.amazon.com/Invasion-UFO-Encounters-Alien-Beings/dp/B001NZ3DNM

Re:Stupid slashdot editors

[BLAG-blast]

I notice other subtle attempts to discredit Iranian domestically produced equipment in the US/western press. When ever an "allied" power makes a press release or claim to have produced it's own version of something (a submarine, rocket, satellite, etc.), the press refers to it as "domestically produced". When Iran makes a press release or claim to have made the same thing, the press calls it "home made", which seems to imply it was name in somebodies garage at home (and it's comparable to things like the home made Chinese oil drum submarine).

Re:Stupid slashdot editors

[ladoga]

I think they just used a stock photo of UFO to illustrate the article. It's not supposed to be any more real than the Bill Gates with Borg apparatus picture that the Slashdot uses ever so often.

The real one should probably look something like this: http://www.isna.ir/ISNA/PicView.aspx?Pic=Pic-1736235-1&Lang=E

Re:Stupid slashdot editors

[Ohrion]

The Fars article ITSELF refers to it as being home-made. Article linked from the summary: http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8912250816.

Re:Stupid slashdot editors

[Thud457]

who built a what that looks like a what now?

But, do, continue with the belittling of those silly fundamentalists accomplishments.

Project Caret, anyone?

Re:Stupid slashdot editors

[Jessified]

I'm not going to rate it down, but only because I want to respond. But God I hope someone else does. You are lumping non-US countries into one big group, and then at that you are speaking on behalf of entire countries. And every comment you made about said countries applies to many, many people in the US if not a pervasive American culture. "Frequently xenophobic," the need to "openly admit they are not the superior beings of the world." Don't get me started on "inferior societal practices," that is wrong on so many levels.

Re:Stupid slashdot editors

[seidojohn]

Instead of being from a B-movie, it's the winner of Popular Science's "Best of What's New 2008": http://www.draganfly.com/uav-helicopter/draganflyer-x6/

Re:Stupid slashdot editors

[Jessified]

And upon what do you base your expert knowledge of EVERY non-US culture? You are broad brushing, based on what? Some Indian schools are more competitive than American schools, but you are trying to say that they just hand out As because it's culturally unacceptable in every non-US country to fail a student. WHAT?! Where do you come up with this stuff?

The simple fact is, inferior societal practices are just that, especially when people are not willing to discuss and address.

You would do well to start with the inferior practices of American culture. That's what these forums are about, right, according to you? Turning a critical eye on oneself? And you would have a valid point, if that's what you were doing. But you're not. You're turning a critical eye to every non-US culture and not to your own, which in and of itself demonstrates the very characteristics you criticize in others: namely, xenophobia and a superiority complex. As Marshall would say: "Lawyered."

"Uh, I'm sorry, sir, but did you know that your ignorance is showing?"

Did I miss something?

[elrous0]

I actually read the articles (yes, I know it's a sin) and I didn't see any reference to the picture they released ACTUALLY coming from a movie. The headlines *joke* that it *looks* like something from a B-movie, but the summary seems to take that seriously.

The picture may be a mock-up, and the claimed craft may be a bunch of bullshit (with some of the crazy claims coming from Iran lately, who knows), but I don't see any news sources saying they actually stole the picture from a specific movie. I will say though, that, for a country completely devoid of homosexuals, they sure do have an unusual bent for the theatrical.

Re:Did I miss something?

[MoonBuggy]

I just did exactly that search - it's used as the cover art on what appears to be a low budget straight-to-DVD documentary from 2008, but I very much doubt that's the original.

Re:Did I miss something?

[MightyYar]

Can you get goatse to show up on tineye? That would be a pretty good trick.

Re:Did I miss something?

[Nikker]

I found it humorous that an interstellar space craft is equipped with GPS though.

Re:Did I miss something?

[WrongSizeGlass]

THANK YOU. A citation. None of the news stories I've found provided one - they preferred to just make the allegation and trust that I will believe them.

Um, just like Iran made a claim that they invented a flying saucer and trust that you will believe them?

/. News Network

[Even on Slashdot FOE]

Our contributors never sully themselves with reading the article they are writing about, news at 11.

Iran used to be called Persia...

[jenningsthecat]

...so can we consider this an update of a 'flying carpet'?

aliens?

[EonsWrath]

Does this mean we are going to be abducted by iranians tractor beams? The thought scares me. I like my cows... If they have flying saucer technology, then they *should* have tractor beam technology right? (beam me up, scotty)

Actual Picture

[prakslash]

The news agency used a stock photo. The actual photo (clickable) is here.

Re:Actual Picture

[Anonymous Coward]

The actual photo is of a DraganFlyer X6 built by DraganFly in Saskatoon, Canada. I imagine the folks at DraganFly are busy answering questions this morning.

Re:Actual Picture

[Ogive17]

It looks like they strapped a couple blades to a charcoal grill.

I guess the definition of a 'flying saucer' has been watered down a bit...

Re:Actual Picture

[Anonymous Coward]

That's a UK police drone reported by BBC years ago: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6676809.stm

Re:Actual Picture

[WarlockSquire]

including the actual photo being taken directly from their site:
http://www.draganfly.com/images/overview/DF-X6/Draganflyer-X6.jpg

Re:Actual Picture

[ColdWetDog]

It looks like they strapped a couple blades to a charcoal grill.

I'm wondering if this isn't a translation error - the real reference calls is a "cuadrotour" - not speaking whatever language it's supposed to be in (? Farsi) it's hard to interpret but it sure looks like "quad rotor" which is a much better description of the picture than 'flying saucer'.

Re:Actual Picture

[vectra14]

I'm pretty sure that picture is of a draganflyer X6.

Not impossible they've installed custom additions (custom autopilot, radio links, etc)

Perhaps the "flying saucer" is a mis-translation on FARS' part..

Re:Actual Picture

[SethThresher]

To save you the trouble, I can tell you that I haven't gotten any mod points yet. I registered just after the update, and my Karma's positive right now.

It's no big deal for me though at the moment, I don't feel like I've been here long enough to give it a proper job yet. I do have some friends that have started getting mod points like crazy though. Seriously, I know a guy who got mod four or five days in a row. He was tired of it by the end.

Re:Actual Picture

[brs336]

That picture is of a commercially available UAV. http://www.draganfly.com/images/overview/DF-X6/Draganflyer-X6.jpg

Re:Actual Picture

[headhot]

Oh no! The Iranians have discovered RC helicopter technology!

Re:Actual Picture

[rwa2]

Good catch, but still doesn't look like the correct photo was used. The articles describe the Iranian device as a quad rotor... that stock picture of the DraganFlyer X6 has 6 rotors.

Anyway, here's a real picture of an Iranian UAV from last year: :P
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11052023

Re:Actual Picture

[thomasdz]

I've been granted multiple bunches of 15 mod points for over a year now and occasionally a bunch of 5
I metamoderate and post not very often, but when I do post, my posts generally are modded up and I think THAT's the key.

Re:Actual Picture

[amicusNYCL]

So when they say they "built" a UAV, what they mean is that they ordered one from Canada, got the kit, and assembled it?

Re:Old news?

[Byzantine]

Welcome to Slashdot. You must be new here.

Richard Dreyfuss

[DnemoniX]

Well the blog author makes a tongue-in-cheek shout out to Richard Dreyfuss, so I'm pretty sure he is making a reference to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The picture is not from that movie. It certainly appears to be from something crappy, perhaps just the now legendary Iranian Photoshop Labs.

Re:Old news?

[Sonny Yatsen]

Unlike the news.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery

[cypherwise]

Nice to see FARS News is taking some cues from the highest form of American journalism. I always knew that deep down they were jealous and wanted to be just like us. Kudos to you FARS News!

another article

[WhiteDragon]

http://nycaviation.com/2011/03/iran-shows-off-flying-saucer-uav-which-is-not-round-looks-nothing-like-a-saucer/

bullshit

[davFr]

slashdot is getting like Ding mixed with Fox News.

This smells of propoganda.

[CherniyVolk]

Iran has scientists and engineers. They can build nuclear power plants, and other advanced technologies. The US would have you believe they are trying to build a nuclear bomb. Iran engineers and manufactures their own long range missiles, so they have the proverbial "rocket scientists" and apparently "competent" ones too.

What's the point of all this?

If you think, Iran, or any other country is unable to design and make their own "UAV", you have GOT to be drinking some serious kool-aid. They aren't stupid and they aren't dumb. Whoever from Iran reporting this story probably isn't allowed access to real photos, so they grab something from their little scrapbook and publish the story. Here in the US, we are so stupid to think that Iran scientists and government have nothing better to do than sit around a table and come up with stories to tell the world; for no purpose or goal at all?

Stop acting retarded people. You want stupid stuff printed in American stories, look at Popular Mechanics. "Oh, but those are artists renditions..." what's the difference!?

Re:This smells of propoganda.

[halivar]

Here in the US, we are so stupid to think that Iran scientists and government have nothing better to do than sit around a table and come up with stories to tell the world; for no purpose or goal at all?

*snicker* Ok. I'll bite. How's that cure for AIDS coming along?

Reminds me of

[arielCo]

Iran Claims Two New Supercomputers:
The pictures show half-filled racks of old commodity servers + storage. Quoting myself:

I just checked out the pictures, and it looks really, really fishy. All you can see is several angles of the same 4 cabinets with 16 1U servers each and one big-ass storage array: 12 disks/cage x 8 cages/cabinet x 8 cabinets = 768 disks; at 135 GB each TOPS with 1+1 mirroring, that'd be ~ 72 TB.

Either they have a notoriously incompetent photographer, or it's the grownup version of a hastily put together science-fair mockup.

So, they're no strangers to silly attempts at faking news, or they're really bad at illustrating real ones. Either way these journalists suck at whatever they're doing.