United States Air Force MQ-9 Reaper Shot down

The IRGC Aerospace Force said it destroyed a US MQ-9 Reaper over the Strait of Hormuz on 3 August 2026, using what it described as a modern air-defence system. Iranian statements said the drone had been directing merchant traffic through the Omani side of the strait, a corridor the IRGC has declared off-limits since the resumption of hostilities in July. Iranian media released footage said to show the engagement. No US confirmation of the loss has been issued, and the operating unit has not been identified. The Reaper remains the most-lost US airframe of the war, with more than thirty destroyed since February.