Military Watch Magazine

Iranian Forces Shoot Down Another U.S. MQ-9 Reaper Drone After Attempted Strike on Anti-Ship Missile Launcher

Iranian air defences were reported on October 21 to shot down a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone, after the unmanned aircraft attempts to target an anti-ship cruise missile launcher in the country. The engagement occurred near the coastal city of Sirik in Hormozgan Province, with images circulating online showing smoke rising from the area. Sirik lies along Iran’s southern coastline near the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a substantial share of global oil shipments passes. While U.S. forces have relied heavily on unmanned aircraft like the MQ-9 for penetration strikes into Iran, due to the high attrition rates which aircraft have suffered, Iranian forces depend heavily on ground-based air defences and mobile cruise missile launchers to asymmetrically counter American air and naval power respectively.