The United States could have lost up to 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones worth a total of $1 billion in the war. – according to a Bloomberg report. Everyone MQ-9 Reaper costs approximately USD 30 million.
The report said many drones were shot down by Iran in flight, but others were destroyed on the ground when Iran attacked US military bases in the Persian Gulf.
Donald Trump gestures in front of an MQ-9 Reaper drone at Al Udeid Air Base, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar.
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Alex Brandon/Associated Press/East News/East News
Bloomberg reported that the United States may have lost as many as 30 such drones in the war, which is more than the 24 mentioned in a report published this month by the Congressional Research Service, a federal research institution.
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MQ-9 Reaper
MQ-9 Reaper is a remotely piloted aircraft used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, but can also be used for precision attacks.
The MQ-9 Reaper is easier to knock out of the sky because they were designed for counterterrorism operations in conditions of weak or no air defense, and not for countries with modern missile systems.
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Costs of the US war in Iran
Amount of USD 1 billion. increases the costs of the war with Iran, which, according to a senior Pentagon official, amounted to up to $29 billion.
The MQ-9 Reaper drone is being phased out of use by the U.S. military, although General Atomics continues to produce it for foreign customers.
Iran's ability to shoot down MQ-9 Reaper drones is further evidence of how it has managed to deploy air defense, despite US President Donald Trump's claims that the country's defenses have been “destroyed”.
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This week, a U.S. official told The New York Times that Iranian military commanders may have outlined flight patterns for American fighters and bombers over their skies, increasing the risk if Trump decides to resume the war with Iran, writes the Middle East Eye website.
He adds that Iran's air defense consists of a combination of domestic, Russian and Chinese systems. Iran and Russia have a long-standing security agreement. According to multiple US media reports, Russia supported Iran by providing satellite images of US warships and military personnel.
Source: Bloomberg, Middle East Eye
