Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Thursday it shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz at 10:12 am local time, calling it the 53rd such drone destroyed since the war with the US and Israel began in February.
The broader conflict began February 28, 2026, when the US and Israel launched large-scale strikes on Iranian government buildings, military sites, missile infrastructure and air defenses to which Iran responded with missile and drone strikes on Israel and US bases across the region, including in Kuwait and Jordan, where additional US drones and aircraft have reportedly been destroyed on the ground.
As with nearly every previous claim in this pattern, the announcement comes from Iranian state media alone which the US military has not confirmed this or most earlier downing claims, making it important to treat the figures as Tehran's own count rather than a verified tally.
Bloomberg reported earlier this year that Iran had destroyed over two dozen MQ-9s that is roughly 20% of the Pentagon's pre-war inventory with drone manufacturer General Atomics reportedly down to fewer than 10 new airframes available and its MQ-9A production line shut down.
Even considering the possibilities for likely exaggeration in an active war, the scale of claimed losses as it hits 50's points to real strain on a drone platform the US Air Force has called its most valuable reconnaissance asset in the campaign.
