1) The Chief of AD division clearly has a vested interest in reporting that. Without saying he's lying, 'we all know' it wouldn't be the first time a government or military functionary reports what is expected or desired to be reported. The claim would be much stronger if there were second or independent third party information to the same extent confirming it.
2) Assuming the statement to be true for now, it would be about those movement that Iran CAN track only. I would not automatically assume those to be ALL relevant US movements)
The U-2 is an old and non-stealthy plane that the Russians and Cubans could already track and 'touch' in the 1960 using the SA-2 Guideline (S-75 Dvina). That fact, however, has not stopped U-2 flights. The U-2 has remained in service since the end of the Cold War and is one of several aircraft types that have been operated by the USAF in excess of 50 years. While the role of the U-2 is increasingly performed by alternative platforms, such as surveillance satellites, unmanned reconnaissance drones such as the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, and conventional aircraft, it was nevertheless projected, in March 2011, that the U.S.'s fleet of 32 U-2s would be operated until 2015. In January 2012, it was reported that Air Force plans to end the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 30 program and extend the U-2 fleet in service until c. 2023
Recently, U-2s have participated in conflicts such as Afghanistan and Iraq, and supported several multinational NATO operations. Assuming Iran detected U-2s outside its borders, how would they (and you) know they weren't 'at work' over the afore mentioned countries? And how exactly would Iran repel a U-2 flying
well outside its borders? Short of sending its own fighters planes or shooting missiles across the Iranian border into neighboring countries, I mean...
- Is it possible the US has (temporarily or permanently) moved its scarce U-2 assets elsewhere, because they were needed elsewhere more urgently (Iraq, Afghanistan obviously, but also e.g. Korea)?
- Is it possible other assets are being or have been substituted for the U-2?
Global Hawk ATCD prototypes have been used in the War in Afghanistan and in the Iraq War. While their data-collection capabilities have been praised, the program lost three prototype aircraft to accidents. Initial operational capability was declared for the RQ-4 Block 30 in August 2011. The Air Force does not plan to keep the RQ-4B Block 30 Global Hawk in service past 2014, in favor of the U-2 and other platforms that can more cheaply take over the mission. The USAF has said that the U-2 pilot and altitude advantages allow it to better function in the stormy weather and airspace restrictions of the East Asia region and its altitude and sensor advantages allow it to see further into hostile territory.
Sure they would, if they saw a need and had no stand-off alternative. And, possibly, as drones get more mature (i.e. more reliable and less accident prone).
So? Hope you are not confusing 'low observable' with 'invisible'. Even if you got to detect it, doesn't mean you automatically have a chance to kill it.
1) I don't own any drones. The Netherlands does: they have 75 Raven UAVs. But not exactly comparable stuff to RQ-4 or RQ-170
Raven mini-UAV | Ministerie van Defensie
2) If for security reasons they didn't publish live video's, why did they brag about this ability to hack into drones? Out of security reasons too? If would be much smarter to hack and not say. Which is why I find this rather suspect.
It is a perfectly legit question, which you haven't responded to. Uavs may give you visual images that a stand off radar plane may not give you. So, its complementary capabilities. But it doesn't mean the US would be blind if it has no assets
over Iran. JSTARS planes were instrumental in wacking the Iraqi army as it retreated from Kuwait. It can see e.g. AD batteries being moved.
File:GMTI JSTARS.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
https://www.fas.org/irp/imint/jstars4.htm
MP-RTIP Progress Continues