IRGC Reports Interception of US Drone
According to Iranian outlets, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Monday that it had shot down a US Army MQ-1 drone flying over the Strait of Hormuz. The force attributed the interception to a newly introduced advanced aerospace air defense system that functions as part of Iran's integrated air defense network. The semi-official Mehr News Agency was the outlet that carried this account.[S1]
The IRGC also asserted that, following significant attrition within its MQ-9 fleet, Washington had put the MQ-1 back into operational use. The force pointed out that this drone, nicknamed the "Beast of Kandahar" for roughly 20,000 flight hours logged above Afghanistan, had already been withdrawn from US military service and supplanted by the MQ-9. Losing a substantial share of the MQ-9 fleet left the US with no choice but to rely on this aircraft, the IRGC said.[S1]
