Israel Air and Space Force Heron Shot down

An Israeli IAI Heron was shot down over Markazi province in central Iran on 9 March 2026. Markazi hosts industrial and missile-production facilities that featured among Israeli and US target sets during the campaign. The Heron, an older and slower platform than the Hermes 900, was used for wide-area surveillance and proved similarly vulnerable to the Iranian short-range systems deployed around protected sites.