The IRGC public relations office, in a statement reported by Mehr News Agency, said the “ever-watchful fighters of the IRGC's modern air defence” struck the long-range US drone with missile fire early on Monday.
The reported shootdown comes as the United States launched attacks on Iranian targets for the first time in more than a month. The Financial Times reported on Monday that American forces had struck two Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones targeting US air bases in Jordan.
The MQ-9 Reaper claimed to have been shot down is an advanced US-made Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) capable of long-range reconnaissance and surveillance operations as well as precision strikes. The aircraft costs up to million per unit.
For comparison, the F-35 Lightning, described as the most advanced jet in US service, costs between .5 million and 9 million per aircraft. The Reaper's million price tag also makes it more expensive than some fighter jets, including Pakistan's JF-17, which costs around million per aircraft. The HAL Tejas Mk-1A used by the Indian Air Force costs between million and million per aircraft.
The reported incident is also significant for India because the country operates a variant of the MQ-9 platform. India recently leased two MQ-9B Sea Guardians, while several more are on order.
The MQ-9 Reaper is a medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV developed by American aerospace manufacturer General Atomics. Operated primarily by the US Air Force, the Reaper is used mainly for intelligence collection and precision strike missions.
According to General Atomics, the Reaper can remain airborne for about 27 hours, reach speeds of up to 240 knots, or about 444 kilometres per hour, operate at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet and carry a 3,850-pound, or 1,746-kilogram, payload, including 3,000 pounds, or 1,361 kilograms, of external stores.
Its sensor and communications systems enable persistent surveillance, while its weapons capability includes AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, GBU-12 laser-guided bombs and GBU-38 JDAMs, allowing it to move from tracking a target to striking it.
The MQ-9 Reaper, however, has no dedicated capability to defend itself against air-defence missiles or fighter aircraft. It is designed to operate well beyond the range of enemy air defences or in areas where those defences have been sufficiently suppressed.
As a result, Reapers heavily used for surveillance around the Strait of Hormuz have suffered heavy losses during the ongoing US-Iran war. According to a Washington Post report published earlier in August, the US military has lost at least 45 MQ-9 drones since the war started in February, representing about 25% of its entire Reaper fleet.
India's MQ-9B Sea Guardians differ significantly from the MQ-9 Reaper that the IRGC claimed to have shot down on Monday. India's Ministry of Defence leased two MQ-9B Sea Guardians at a cost of Rs 1,943 crore earlier in August.
Unlike the Reaper, which is designed to track and destroy targets on land and sea, the Sea Guardian is designed primarily for maritime reconnaissance. According to General Atomics, the Sea Guardian has a 79-foot wingspan, a higher take-off weight of 5,670 kilograms and longer endurance of 30 hours compared with the Reaper's 27 hours.
The Sea Guardian is the maritime version of the MQ-9B family and carries sensors specifically designed to monitor large stretches of ocean in all weather conditions. It is also being developed with the capability to detect and track submarines, a capability that is relatively rare among UAVs.
A Sea Guardian can remain airborne for hours while monitoring a section of sea, following a vessel or maintaining surveillance across distant approaches without placing an aircrew under endurance constraints. Unlike the Reaper, the Sea Guardian is also designed to operate from civilian airports.
The Sea Guardians operated by India lack the offensive capabilities of the Reaper. The aircraft is designed to track vessels, both on the surface and submerged, for extended periods while remaining outside the range of enemy air defences.
The Indian Navy is currently operating four Sea Guardians, which were leased starting in 2020. In October 2024, New Delhi signed a deal to acquire 31 MQ-9Bs, comprising 15 Sea Guardians for the Navy and 16 Sky Guardians for the Army and Air Force, for around Rs 32,000 crore. The first deliveries are scheduled for early 2029.
The IRGC's claim over the MQ-9 Reaper remains unconfirmed by the United States, while the reported loss comes amid renewed military exchanges between Washington and Tehran around the strategically significant Strait of Hormuz.
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