Attack dogs with titanium fangs?

Along with stealth aircraft, and biometric devices, a bomb sniffing dog with titanium teeth was also used in the raid.

Did the US unleash a pile of secret technology on Pakistan on May 1: From the use of super stealth radar-evading helicopters, to a Navy SEAL dog fitted with titanium fangs? According to CIA Director Leon Panetta, two Blackhawks were used in Operation Neptune Spear in which ‘Geronimo’ was the code word for Bin Laden’s death. But as more details emerge, it appears that a total of four helicopters and a drone were used in the operation. Two stealth helicopters, that some say were modified Blackhawks, flew undetected through Pakistan’s airspace. They were later followed by two MH-47 Chinooks, which were called in after one of the stealth helicopters malfunctioned and had to be destroyed.

The internet is buzzing with theories about the secret helicopters, from their supposed name ‘Airwolf’ to their infrared absorbing paint, smooth skin, and masked tail rotor. On the web, the geek squad has already come up with mock images of what the secret helicopter might look like. It is rumoured that it could be the stealth Comanche, which the Pentagon cancelled in 2004 in order to develop unmanned drones instead. To further fuel the rumour mill, the US has asked Pakistan to return the wreckage of the crashed helicopter because of fears that secrets of the stealth technology could be recovered from the debris and eventually fall into rival hands.

Now for the canine fitted with titanium fangs. Details have emerged (on a variety of US-based news sites and blogs) that a dog enhanced with sharp titanium teeth was dropped down into Bin Laden’s compound. The bomb-sniffing dog was strapped to the chest of a Navy SEAL, who jumped out of a helicopter. The identity of this dog is being kept a secret, but most likely it’s a German Shepherd. It was taken along on the mission in case Bin Laden was hiding in a hole or cavity. In that case, the dog would have been used to sniff him out. The titanium fangs are said to cost $2,000 a piece and provide the dog with the ability to bite through body armour. Apparently the dog wore a protective vest equipped with an infrared camera so that it could stream live images back to the Navy SEALs.

Overhead surveillance was a crucial part of the planning and execution of the raid. Satellites take long-range pictures which can plot the movements of targets, whereas drones record movement with their video cameras. A combination of spy drones and satellites confirmed human intelligence about Bin Laden’s location and allowed the US to pinpoint his compound. Fox News reported a satellite, armed with a facial recognition programme that recognised Bin Laden exercising outside in his Abbottabad compound. Details are not clear on whether the secret stealth RQ-170 spy drone, also known as the beast of Kandahar, was used for surveillance before the raid. It is thought that its stealth ability allowed it to evade Pakistani radars and it flies high enough to prevent it from being heard.

After Bin Laden was shot, on-the-spot technology was used to identify him. Navy SEALs were equipped with state of the art handheld biometric devices. They also took photos of Bin Laden and the CIA’s facial recognition technology confirmed that they had the right guy. Facial recognition works by making a digital code of the face, which allows it to recognise photographs of the person. What happened immediately following identification, is even more bizarre. Bin Laden’s body was flown from Abbottabad to Jalalabad, in Afghanistan, for further confirmation. His DNA was matched to the brain matter of his dead sister who died of cancer in Boston a few years ago. The FBI laid claim to her body and her brain was preserved for the sole purpose of identifying Bin Laden in the event of his capture.

There is still a lot to discover about the details of the raid. We might never know what really happened that day or perhaps the next round of WikiLeaks will give us some insight. But one thing is for certain: Some of the top secret spyware that the US possesses would not have been exposed if it wasn’t for the surgical strike on Bin Laden. The use of technology has made this shocking event even more intriguing.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2011.