Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Tuesday its forces intercepted and shot down a new US MQ-9 drone over the Strait of Hormuz, marking the 54th such US drone downed, according to the statement.
In a statement, the IRGC said the unmanned aircraft was downed over the skies of the strategic waterway by the IRGC Aerospace Force’s advanced, new air defense system, which is operating under the country’s integrated air defense network.
The downing marks the latest in a series of similar interceptions over the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks.
Last September the IRGC announced it has downed the 53rd MQ-9 drone over Qeshem Island.
The toll provided by the IRGC matches with that of The Washington Post, which reported last August that US military has lost at least 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones during the war with Iran, or roughly 25 percent of its fleet.
The American daily reported the figures citing three US officials familiar with the matter.
The Reaper is used to conduct surveillance and targeted strikes, and it can cost between $30 million and $50 million depending on the type of sensors and weapons it carries, according to the Air Force.
The potential taxpayer cost of recent losses is over $1.3 billion for that weapon system alone, according to The Washington Post.
The Reaper joins a growing list of US weapons and munitions that have been drained by the Iran war and years of American military support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
In the first month of Washington’s war on Iran, US forces fired more than 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles and more than 1,000 Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missiles, significantly cutting into stockpiles of a key long-range strike capability and the military’s most in-demand air-defense systems, The Post reported in March.
Source: Al-Manar English Website