IRG Downs Another US MQ-1 Drone over Hormuz

By Staff, Agencies

The Islamic Revolution Guards [IRG’s] Aerospace Force has intercepted and destroyed another MQ-1 drone belonging to the US military over the Strait of Hormuz.

The IRG announced the development on Monday, saying the aircraft was brought down using the Aerospace Force’s new air-defense system operating under the control of Iran’s Integrated Air-Defense Network.

The medium-altitude, long-endurance aircraft has won notoriety as the “Butcher of Kandahar” after logging 20,000 flight hours over Afghanistan.

It has been removed from the operational fleets of the US Navy and Air Force for several years and replaced by the MQ-9.

Its re-entrance into service has been attributed to the US Army’s having lost a large number of MQ-9 drones to the Islamic Republic’s defensive operations.

The US Congressional Budget Office has confirmed the loss of at least 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones since February 28, when the United States and the “Israeli” entity began their latest round of unprovoked aggression against the Islamic Republic. According to figures released by the office, those losses amount to approximately $720 million.

The IRG, however, has put the number at 53.

Observers commenting on the report have credited Iran’s success in securing its airspace “to a considerable extent” against combat drones for the extensive losses suffered in the area of unmanned aerial aircraft by the US Department of War.

The MQ-1 shootdown follows the Iranian Army’s announcement on Sunday that it had destroyed an advanced Orbiter reconnaissance drone over the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement, the Army said the Orbiter drone had been targeted and destroyed by indigenous air-defense systems deployed in southeastern Iran.