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CIA Reportedly Used Secret Quantum Tool To Find Downed Airman in Iran (nypost.com) 254

Posted by BeauHD from the never-before-used dept.
alternative_right quotes a report from the New York Post: The CIA used a futuristic new tool called "Ghost Murmur" to find and rescue the second American airman who was shot down in southern Iran, The Post has learned. The secret technology uses long-range quantum magnetometry to find the electromagnetic fingerprint of a human heartbeat and pairs the data with artificial intelligence software to isolate the signature from background noise, two sources close to the breakthrough said. It was the tool's first use in the field by the spy agency -- and was alluded to Monday afternoon by President Trump and CIA Director John Ratcliffe at a White House briefing. "It's like hearing a voice in a stadium, except the stadium is a thousand square miles of desert," a source briefed on the program told The Post. "In the right conditions, if your heart is beating, we will find you." The relatively barren landscape made for "an ideal first operational use" of Ghost Murmur, the first source noted.

"Normally this signal is so weak that it can only be measured in a hospital setting with sensors pressed nearly against the chest," the source said. "But advances in a field known as quantum magnetometry -- specifically sensors built around microscopic defects in synthetic diamonds -- have apparently made it possible to detect these signals at dramatically greater distances."

"The capability is not omniscient. It works best in remote, low-clutter environments and requires significant processing time," this person added.

CIA Reportedly Used Secret Quantum Tool To Find Downed Airman in Iran More | Reply

CIA Reportedly Used Secret Quantum Tool To Find Downed Airman in Iran

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  • Open the box (Score:5, Funny)

    by rossdee ( 243626 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @07:04AM (#66082734)

    To find out if he is still alive

  • More from the "never happened" department (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Mr. Dollar Ton ( 5495648 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @07:08AM (#66082736)

    After the fail of operation Epstein Fury, we'll be getting hundreds of "feel-good" bullshit stories.

    In reality, the stupid war of aggression strengthened the regime in Iran and will likely provide them with another source of income, the Hormuz Straits tax, that they did not collect before that.

    A trumpistani move that is even more stupid than the tariff trade war with the world.

  • So, they invented... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by kingramon0 ( 411815 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @07:13AM (#66082738) Homepage

    Did they just invent long range sensors?

    • Re:So, they invented... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Entrope ( 68843 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @07:22AM (#66082742) Homepage

      I'm not sure what you mean. Do your eyes count as "long range sensors"? Mine can see stars that are many light-years away, and eyes are not a new invention.

      They claim to have realized (invented) a better quantum magnetometer and a way to process the data to do a pretty amazing kind of detection. That's one very specific kind of long range sensor, with improvements over previous long range sensors but also limitations of its own. It's presumably not a magic device that Pareto dominates other long range sensors.

    • Re: So, they invented... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by PseudoThink ( 576121 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @07:24AM (#66082744)

      I think it's more likely they invented a cover story for how they actually found the pilot. Why would the CIA advertise this tech, otherwise? In this case, maybe they just replaced carrots [smithsonianmag.com] with "quantum".

      • Re: So, they invented... (Score:4, Interesting)

        by gtall ( 79522 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @07:43AM (#66082754)

        It is not clear that the CIA wanted to advertise this. At least from the blurb, all we know is that la Presidenta and his goon Ratcliffe could not keep their mouths shut. Having his goon as head of the CIA is a security problem from the get-go.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by gweihir ( 88907 )

          The CIA will not have passed anything on that was really a secret. They know that President Demented Fool cannot keep quiet about things.

          Anyways, the whole story has no credibility. Quantum Magnetometers have just a few km of range. They found these people some other way and now push this lie to appear superior and have magic at their disposal. Classical propaganda claims.

          • You're forgetting all the agencies are now headed by Trump approved stooges. The head of the CIA is a lawyer.

        • Re: So, they invented... (Score:5, Interesting)

          by burtosis ( 1124179 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @09:36AM (#66082992)

          It is not clear that the CIA wanted to advertise this. At least from the blurb, all we know is that la Presidenta and his goon Ratcliffe could not keep their mouths shut. Having his goon as head of the CIA is a security problem from the get-go.

          I have some experience with SQUIDS and while you can do some cool things with them the idea you could isolate a human heartbeat beyond a few yards or meters is nonsense. It might make for a cool urban search and rescue tool for locating an unconscious body a few feet away but you aren’t locating a single human heart beat from 50 miles away in a search area of 10,000 square miles. Sure, they used some new widget(s) to find them but this story is pure BS.

          • I doubt they used a single new technology or device to find this airman. There is satellite and AWACS coverage. Iran downed one but 2/3-3/4 of our AWACS are there.

            • I doubt they used a single new technology or device to find this airman. There is satellite and AWACS coverage. Iran downed one but 2/3-3/4 of our AWACS are there.

              Of course, but on the flip side they are always given “cool new gear” to try out. Even if the satellite showed where they were, if they were unconscious in a 10’ radius somewhere under stuff it’s not inconceivable they used a new widget to help with the final inches. The reality is these stories are just psyops to embellish capabilities and to distract from real life limitations.

      • Re: So, they invented... (Score:4, Informative)

        by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @08:17AM (#66082792)

        Well you know he is that dumb. Like tweeting detailed satellite photos that reveal capabilities. https://www.npr.org/2022/11/18... [npr.org]

        Boasting about submarine capabilities https://www.theguardian.com/us... [theguardian.com]

        Trying to move hurricanes using nuclear bombs https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/26... [cnn.com]

        People really think this man is competent?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by SumDog ( 466607 )
        Yea it smells like total bullshit. Everyone is curious what they were really after sending in actual people instead of drones to being with. Stealing uranium stockpiles seems to be the current running theory, and hence why the C-130 was there and lost.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by gweihir ( 88907 )

          Only that the uranium stockpiles are under a mountain of dirt because the Iranians buried them. Which is cheap, easy and really low-tech. And can be reversed easily and cheaply if you do it on your own territory. Hence unless the US brings a number of excavators and at least a few weeks of time while being sitting ducks, no uranium stockpiles are going to get grabbed.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Zak3056 ( 69287 )

          Everyone is curious what they were really after sending in actual people instead of drones to being with. Stealing uranium stockpiles seems to be the current running theory, and hence why the C-130 was there and lost.

          By "everyone" I assume you're referring to "conspiracy theorists?" Humans were there because the only thing that can actually secure an area are boots on the ground. The C-130s were there to bring the MH-6s. This is pretty simple, and in order to complicate it you have to really want it to be something else.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by SumDog ( 466607 )
            War is about actual conspiracies that are carried out. That's literally all it is. The term "conspiracy theorist" was intentionally used as a demonization by the CIA in the 1960s to prevent people from questioning anything the government puts out.

            I'm talking about THE FIRST F-15 that was originally shot down. Why send in a real human when we've been using drones effectively all this time. That's the real question no on is answering.

            And as far as Conspiracy Realities that have been verified as true: Ope

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by taustin ( 171655 )

        This is the New York Post, the US equivalent of a British tabloid. Just because they don't have topless women on page 3 doesn't make them any more credible.

    • Nope, they invented bullshit cover stories to mask what they actually did. Well, not really invented the concept but the bullshit level in this one is new. I like the use of quantum in there, that always gets people's brains to shut down and swallow whatever's being sold.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gweihir ( 88907 )

        Indeed. "Quantum" and "AI" in there as signifiers of "magic", "power" and "superiority". I am surprised they did not throw in "crapto" as well, but apparently that was too far out even for the no-mental-capabilities-at-all MAGAs.

        Funny detail: Quantum Magnetometers have a really low range in the area of a few km only. They currently hope to get them to being able to detect submerged submarines at up to something like 5km. The tech is also not secret at all and not even really new. I think we can reliably say

  • Why not give each soldier a password that they mumble to be found?

  • I'm thinking propaganda (Score:4, Insightful)

    by frdmfghtr ( 603968 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @07:40AM (#66082752)

    This sounds more like a story meant to plant the seeds of FUD..."we can detect a heartbeat in the middle of a desert, we can find YOU." It projects an aura of technological power and superiority.

    This reminds me of a passage in the book "Pentagon Wars" that talks about the US's outdated approach to warfare...overwhelming technological superiority, just "beat the hell out of the enemy" is how I would label it. This talk about quantum magnetometry reminded me of this passage. It is intended to project, whether true or not, technological superiority.

    • This reminds me of a passage in the book "Pentagon Wars" that talks about the US's outdated approach to warfare...overwhelming technological superiority, just "beat the hell out of the enemy" is how I would label it.

      AKA "bomb them until the rubble bounces".

    • It projects an aura of technological power and superiority.

      This reminds me of a passage in the book "Pentagon Wars" that talks about the US's outdated approach to warfare...overwhelming technological superiority, just "beat the hell out of the enemy" is how I would label it. .

      Out of curiosity, What exactly is the proper modern approach to warfare?

      We have a couple main approaches, The superiority model and the cannon fodder model.

      An example of the cannon fodder model, look at the Soviet defense of Stalingrad in WW2, or to present day Ukraine.

      Some times a superiority model can morph into cannon fodder, as in say Japan's Zero warplane in WW2. In 1940, it was the big kahuna, by 1945, it was used for suicide missions. Pretty much the ultimate cannon fodder action.

      Is the actu

      • The EU has neither the will nor the ability to project power. Russia has the will but no longer has the power. They're burning themselves out in Ukraine. China has the will and is close to having the power. So, China is the only viable alternative, and they are evil.

        In the end, it's a no-brainer. As I expect the responses to demonstrate.

        • The EU has neither the will nor the ability to project power. Russia has the will but no longer has the power. They're burning themselves out in Ukraine. China has the will and is close to having the power. So, China is the only viable alternative, and they are evil.

          In the end, it's a no-brainer. As I expect the responses to demonstrate.

          Yeah, I mean we here in teh US are hardly angels, and at present one might not be off base to question the competence of the present crew, but for me, history shows the world could do a whole lot worse.

        • China is following the old rule of never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. They're busy with century long plans to build infrastructure and modernize the country. Meanwhile the USA is crumbling.

      • The proper modern approach is to remove the need for warfare.

        Remember that ole scifi book, where one of the commerce princes said "the blaster shoots both ways"?

        • The proper modern approach is to remove the need for warfare.

          We should all be completely peaceful and non-violent toward all others.

          Problem is, until our genetics are all altered to remove all of the violent tendencies, yet none of the survival instincts, humans won't do that.

          Humans by and large, are not all that nice. We should be nice, but we aren't.

          • Yes, we see some humans aren't nice at all and try to bully everyone, hiding behind a nuclear umbrella and giving an example of their lookalikes worldwide.

            We also see how they end up with a smashed and badly blooded nose even when they think they are very powerful, like Putin in Ukraine.

            Imagine what it is like, losing the war to a cruel regime of people you despise as weak and just when you thought you hold all the cards and won all the battles...

            Unconscionable!

            • Yes, we see some humans aren't nice at all and try to bully everyone, hiding behind a nuclear umbrella and giving an example of their lookalikes worldwide.

              We also see how they end up with a smashed and badly blooded nose even when they think they are very powerful, like Putin in Ukraine.

              Imagine what it is like, losing the war to a cruel regime of people you despise as weak and just when you thought you hold all the cards and won all the battles...

              Unconscionable!

              How to take many words to say you don't get it without saying you don't get it.

              You would appear to hate the USA - no problem. Tell me who should replace us, to enter a new world of conflict free, eternal peace.

              You do know that that would be the first time in the history of humanity, that situation would exist. The USA is not an angel, I don't agree with the present action at all - you apparently believe the conflict free model, where all are happy, and no predominant country is out there, all that nee

      • What exactly is the proper modern approach to warfare?

        Same as it always was: don't do it you idiot.

        • What exactly is the proper modern approach to warfare?

          Same as it always was: don't do it you idiot.

          So you would not defend yourself?

          You have an interesting approach. It is the warfare version of telling a depressed person "Don't be depressed, you idiot" And thinking you magically cured their depression.

          The problem is, simply telling a person they are an idiot because they have an understanding of human nature isn't necessarily an intelligent statement.

          Humans have been violent creatures since the start. And humans apparently gain something out of killing other humans, or we wouldn't have done it

          • But it takes recognition of that first part that we are working against our nature. The best way IMO is working to end seeing different groups, countries, and so called "races" as the other is the first step.

            The primary problem with humans is they are easily manipulated and have an unhealthy tolerance of tyranny and aggregation of power. The tribal shit is merely a means to an end.

            So you would not defend yourself?

            If pacifists had their way the entire planet would be locked into a totalitarian dictatorship.

          • So you would not defend yourself?

            Remind me again of what Iran has done to the USA.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gweihir ( 88907 )

        Out of curiosity, What exactly is the proper modern approach to warfare?

        There is just one: Don't do it. The cost is far greater than any potential benefits and modern technology makes any conflict asymmetric. That Russia has still not "won" in Ukraine should have warned even the most stupid. But apparently, more stupid (or really, really desperate, see the Epstein docs) is always a possibility.

      • Out of curiosity, What exactly is the proper modern approach to warfare?

        1. Propagandize on teh intarwebs to get the useful idiots baying in the wrong direction. Including demonizing the wrong 1%.
        2. Collect kompromat to control politicians. If none is available, have a program to create some. (RELEASE THE EPSTIEN FILES.)
        3. Assymetric warfare, use swarms of cheap drones s while the enemy uses 1 million dollar missiles to try to stop them.
        4. sabotage, particularly cyber and ecoonomic .
        5. Don't be a blundering loudmouth. Diplomacy has a much greater ROI. Needing to blow t

        • Out of curiosity, What exactly is the proper modern approach to warfare?

          1. Propagandize on teh intarwebs to get the useful idiots baying in the wrong direction. .......

          So what are you saying? OP says teh US is doing it an outdated way, You apparently are disagreeing with him.

          Allow me to penetrate your narrative. What is the way to avoid your mortal enemy - the USA - from warring with anyone, that will not just have another nation take over? If all you have is antiTrump rhetoric, well - that's all you got. We are not talking about the demented orange shitgibbon, We're talking about the claim that technological superiority is an outdated paradigm for war fighting.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by SumDog ( 466607 )
      I agree, same with the "Dirty Bomb." In Adam Curtis's documentary The Power of Nightmare, he claims a "dirty bomb," isn't even really feasible; that if you just detonated a bunch of fissile material, it would pretty quickly dissipate without really poisoning anyone unless they stood on the detonation spot for a few days.

      • You don't want "fissile material" for a dirty bomb because it is useless, these are typically low-intensity alpha emitters.

        You want radioactive waste. It is a by-product of fission and fusion and arises naturally when a nuke is used, if the nuke is configured that way. But this is a wasteful use of the nuke, because instead of it being extremely destructive over a very large area in a short time, it becomes moderately destructive over a much smaller area for a very long time, which sometimes may hamper you

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gweihir ( 88907 )

        Then Adam Curtis is an idiot. A "dirty bomb" is not about actually killing people. It is all about making people afraid to go into an area.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      This sounds more like a story meant to plant the seeds of FUD..."we can detect a heartbeat in the middle of a desert, we can find YOU." It projects an aura of technological power and superiority.

      I think the same. This is something they desperately want. They hope to impress and crush the Iranians mentally, because that is all they have. Obviously, the other side thinks they have God on their side and hence is quite unimpressed. In addition, add the obvious and crass incompetence of the US administration, the lack of war goals, the indiscriminate killing of civilians and this is really not an opponent that will impress the Iranian leadership. And the population gets no say there. Which, come to thin

  • Also (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jrq ( 119773 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @07:56AM (#66082764)
    Eating carrots is guaranteed to improve your night-vision

  • Israel probably told them.

  • That Happened /s (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SlashbotAgent ( 6477336 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @08:17AM (#66082798)

    What a load of horseshit.

  • I get all my news from the NY Post (Score:4, Funny)

    by Big Hairy Gorilla ( 9839972 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @08:29AM (#66082814)
    Especially technology articles.
    Must be true.

    Also, there's usually some good bikini shots of one of the Kardashian sisters, so it's worth checking out.

  • Total BS (Score:5, Informative)

    by Valgrus Thunderaxe ( 8769977 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @08:38AM (#66082832)
    The pilots carry a transponder. If you make it down to the ground alive, you hide, turn on the transponder and wait for a rescue.
  • "Is this rambling story of magic and heroism true?"
  • Physicist here. They are talking about nitrogen vacancies in diamond. Itâ(TM)s cool, but I donâ(TM)t know about calling it quantum magnetometry. Itâ(TM)s a stretch, a bunch of layperson mumbo-jumbo.

  • That sounds like nonsense (Score:3)

    by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @08:53AM (#66082874)

    Somebody is trying to create an appearance of superiority and being in the possession of "magic". Well, the people doing that also try to give the appearance they are competent and making good decisions and know what they are doing, when that clearly is not the case. Just propaganda lies as usual. I am sure the usual morons (predominantly the MAGAs) will eat it up though.

    For an instructive exercise, read up on WW2 where such myths were around as well and then compare to the actual reality which has been declassified in the meantime. The first casualty of war is still the truth. There is no magic. Occasionally you just get lucky and then can sell that as an illusion of superiority. And as to the supposed massive superiority of the US in this conflict, if that were true then how did the oh-so-primitive and incapable Iranians manage to shoot down that plane in the first place? Yeah, right.

  • I find it pretty sad that they wouldn't have found him without the "secret quantum tool".
  • You can barely pick up the EM field on a heartbeat while touching someone's skin with a purpose-made sensor, if you use electrically conductive gel. They're more likely to find the EM from any electronics powered on than a heart. This is fantasy nonsense.

  • From the heartbeats of the locals? Do American hearts just beat with more FREEDOM.

    Though the beat of freedom is probably the sound of arteries clogged with sat fat and outrage.

  • They used the Quantum Encabulator. Even had sinusoidal buffeting figured out.

  • This reads like a joke (Score:3, Funny)

    by diffract ( 7165501 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @09:51AM (#66083034)
    We lost the war in Iran, let's find anyway to report a win. Also, through in some AI for good measure. The same AI that helped us target a girls school

  • This either is completely fabricated or something _way_ more mundane blown up a chain of bad reporting.

    There is no plausible way you can detect any physical signal from reasonably long distances... and separate it from noise that looks identical.
    Also it uses the word "quantum" which impresses some people, even though it means very little. My computer uses quantum effects, sure... but so does a rotting fish.

  • There's a reason this story is only showing up in nonsense rags like the Post.

  • If this were true they would have found Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and the Yeti by now.

  • My BS meter goes up 1000x as soon as I see the word Quantum and AI in the same sentence. There's probably some remote truth to this story but my bet on the technology claims at this point is that it's BS.

  • Its bullshit. Definitely bullshit.

  • i smell (Score:3)

    by higuita ( 129722 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2026 @12:23PM (#66083384) Homepage

    i smell just a cover history to hide that they are listening to all Iran comms and when Iranian reports pointing that the pilot should be in a certain area, they rushed support to take him first. or simply it was a mirror signal, but that would not make them look good, just incompetent... so lets tell a stupid high tech story, just to look great

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