Iran destroyed 20 percent of US's MQ-9 Reaper drone fleet: Report

Middle East Eye · May 22, 2026 War

Iran destroyed 20 percent of US's MQ-9 Reaper drone fleet: Report Iran has destroyed $1bn worth of MQ-9 Reaper Drones, or roughly 20 percent of the US’s pre- war inventory of the sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles, according to a report by Bloomberg on Friday. The report said that many of the drones were downed by Iran in flight, but that others had been destroyed on the ground when Iran targeted US military bases in the Gulf. The MQ-9 is both a surveillance drone and capable of carrying a payload, typically Hellfire missiles or Joint Direct Attack Munition guided bombs.

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