Factual error: Mikaela hot wires the tow truck by twisting two conveniently exposed and very long wires together. Allowing that this could work at all in a modern vehicle, it can't steer until the ignition lock is turned or removed, neither of which she does. (01:55:55)
Factual error: In the beginning scenes which take place in Qatar (not Bahrain), you can see tall mountains all around in the background. Qatar is surrounded by desert and a few hills such as Tuwayyir al Hamir that are up to about 325 ft in height, but it has NO tall mountains. All filming locations are in the US.
Factual error: The Secretary of Defense states that the remains of the defeated Decepticons were dropped into the Laurentian Abyss, "the deepest point on Earth". The deepest point on Earth is actually Challenger Deep, in the Mariana Trench. Given the location was specifically chosen BECAUSE it's the deepest point on earth, it would have been properly researched by the characters, making this a movie mistake rather than a character mistake. (02:14:50)
Factual error: In the scene in which the US Army SpecOps survivors of Qatar are being picked up, they were sent a Huey. However, the US Army has replaced the Hueys with the Blackhawk.
Factual error: The guys in the pentagon say "Predator's coming up in a minute". Twenty seconds later we see this so-called Predator. It has a jet engine and a regular V tail. An RQ-1 Predator UAV has a four-cylinder engine (propellers) and inverted-V tails - /\. An MQ-9 Reaper also has propellers. The only UAV in the USAF with a jet engine is the Global Hawk, which does not have a lethal capability.
Factual error: When Defense Secretary Keller is having the press conference at the pentagon after the attack at Qatar he said "bases worldwide are at Defcon Delta our highest readiness level" which is incorrect. DEFCON stands for defense readiness condition and is ranked in numbers from 1-5. Force Protection Condition (FPCON) also know as (THREATCON) is ranked from Alpha to Delta, Delta being the highest level. FPCON measures the defensive state of American bases while DEFCON measures preparations for war.
Factual error: When the Secretary of Defense is talking about dispatching battle groups to various places around the planet, we get various shots of a Carrier Battle Group. Now this movie is set in 2007. On the aft end of the carrier are F-14 Tomcats. The last Tomcat was retired from service in September of 2006, almost a year before the movie takes place.
Factual error: When briefing the Secretary of Defence, Banacheck refers to NASA/JPL having lost the Beagle 2 probe on Mars. Beagle 2 was part of the European Space Agency Mars Express mission. NASA/JPL were not involved. Beagle 2 was also not a rover-type mission, as portrayed in the film, but a static scientific lander.
Factual error: The call sign used for the AC-130 is "Spooky" which is the AC-130U nickname. The plane in the scene is an AC-130H "Spectre" as evidenced by the "cheeks" on the plane and the logo visible in the shot where the aircraft rolls in. No gunship would fly using the nickname of another type of aircraft as its callsign, too much potential for confusion.
Factual error: When Barricade interrogates Sam, he asks him if he is "Username ladiesman217" and "Where is eBay item 21153". However, it is impossible for an item sold so recently to be that item number. If you sell an item now, it would be over item number 200000000000.
Factual error: While fighting Scorponok in Qatar, the special ops team requests a gunship to attack with 105 shells. The gunships confirms but no 105mm shot is fired. The gunships fires three rapidly firing cannons within 17 seconds. 105mm shells cause a massive explosion upon impact, and aren't reloaded that rapidly because of their weight. (00:44:05)
Chosen answer: There is no reason to think they can't. They simply choose not to. They may feel it's too deceitful.
Actually in this movie (when joining up with bumblebee and the others after they pick up the All Spark) and Revenge of the Fallen, Ironhide uses holographic humans in his cargo bed. Also, Arcee and the twins use holographic drivers at the beginning scene in Revenge of the Fallen.