The CIA used a new, highly classified technology called ‘Ghost Murmur’ to track down and rescue a US airman in Iran, according to the New York Post.
This device detects the electromagnetic fingerprint of a human heartbeat, something only a living person emits. Then it runs that data through AI software, which helps pinpoint exactly whose heartbeat it is.
What is Ghost Murmur?
Turns out, it came from Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, the same group known for wild breakthroughs in aerospace tech. The CIA’s first mission with Ghost Murmur happened when an F-15 weapons officer, code-named ‘Dude 44 Bravo,’ got shot down over southern Iran. He spent two days hiding out in the desert, while Iranian troops hunted him with a bounty on his head.
That area of Iran is pretty empty, which made it perfect for testing out Ghost Murmur. There wasn’t much electromagnetic interference, and hardly any people around to muddy the signals.
CIA’s Secret ‘Ghost Murmur’ Technology Used to Track Heartbeat
Plus, at night, the difference in temperature between a living person and the cold desert floor gave the operators another way to confirm what they were seeing.
And the name? It’s not random. ‘Murmur’ is a medical term for a heartbeat, while ‘Ghost’ hints at tracking someone who’s vanished almost like they’re invisible. At least, that’s what the report says.
Usually, you need hospital equipment pressed right up against the chest to pick up a heartbeat signal—it’s that faint. But with new advances in quantum magnetometry, people can now detect heartbeats from much farther away.
Of course, this tech isn’t magic. It works best in quiet, open spaces and takes a lot of data crunching, according to a source quoted in the report.
What did Ghost Murmur actually do?
After his F-15 went down, the injured pilot was stuck in a mountain crevice. He turned on his Combat Survivor Evader Locator beacon, made by Boeing, but rescue teams still couldn’t pin down exactly where he was. Then Ghost Murmur stepped in and spotted him.
The turning point came when the pilot finally poked his head out of the crevice to send another beacon signal. That was when Ghost Murmur locked onto his location.
Officially, the US government stays pretty quiet about Ghost Murmur. CIA Director John Ratcliffe dropped a hint in a briefing, saying the agency uses “exquisite technologies that no other intelligence service in the world possesses.”
He added, “Some of these capabilities fall under covert action authorities and, because covert means exactly that, I’m not going to be able to tell you everything you want to know.”
