SAEDNEWS: Western media have reported that “Iran has destroyed more than two dozen MQ-9 Reaper drones operated by US forces since the war began” in late February.
According to Saednews, In an article published on Thursday, Bloomberg, citing an anonymous source and as reported by Russia Today, stated that the U.S. military has lost up to 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones since the beginning of the conflict with Iran. This represents nearly one-fifth of Washington’s pre-war fleet and is estimated to be worth close to $1 billion. According to the report, most of the drones were destroyed or severely damaged by Iranian fire.
The MQ-9 Reaper is capable of performing both surveillance and combat missions. Each unit costs more than $30 million. General Atomics reportedly stopped production of this model last year, although some variants continue to be produced for international customers.
According to Lt. Gen. David Tabor, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs at the Pentagon, the U.S. Reaper fleet has declined to about 135 aircraft, which is significantly below the Air Force’s long-term minimum requirement of 189.
Earlier this month, the Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan branch of the Library of Congress, released a report titled “U.S. Aircraft Combat Losses in Operation Epic Fury.” Citing an unspecified news article, it estimated that the U.S. military had lost 24 MQ-9 Reapers and one MQ-4C drone.
The report also listed total losses of 42 U.S. aircraft, including four F-15E fighter jets, one F-35A, one A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack aircraft, seven KC-135 refueling tankers, and one helicopter.
Appearing before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst stated that the cost of the military operation against Iran had increased from an earlier estimate of $25 billion to $29 billion, due to updated repair and replacement costs among other factors.
