Key facts
- Iranian forces have downed at least two American MQ-1 unmanned aircraft in recent days, according to US officials.
- The US officials spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity.
- The US military operates MQ-1 Predator and Gray Eagle variants.
- Iran's IRGC claimed to have shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over Qeshm Island on September 17, 2026.
- The IRGC claimed this was the 53rd US MQ-9 destroyed during the conflict.
- The IRGC also claimed to have shot down another MQ-9 on September 16, 2026.
Iranian forces have downed at least two American MQ-1 unmanned aircraft in recent days, according to US officials who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity. The officials did not specify where in the region the remotely piloted aircraft were brought down or which specific MQ-1 variant was involved. The US military operates two principal MQ-1 variants: the Predator, retired by the Air Force in 2018, and the Gray Eagle, still operated by the Army. Both variants are designed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions and can also carry Hellfire missiles.
Separately, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on September 17, 2026, that its forces intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC stated the drone was detected in Iranian airspace and brought down at 10:12 a.m. local time using a new advanced air-defense system. The IRGC identified the aircraft as the 53rd US MQ-9 it has claimed to have destroyed during the conflict. This claim followed an announcement from the IRGC on September 16, 2026, that it shot down another MQ-9 over the same area, which it identified as the 52nd destroyed.