The IRGC showcases remnants of an advanced MQ-9 drone of the US military downed during the 40-day war.<\/p>\n
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said it has intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-1 drone over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the 15th aircraft of its kind brought down by Iranian air defenses.<\/strong><\/p>\n In a statement on Wednesday, the IRGC public relations office said the drone was detected, tracked, and destroyed by the Corps\u2019 advanced air defense system, operating under the country’s integrated air defense network. The statement did not specify the exact time of the incident or the type of missile used.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the destruction of this drone, the number of US MQ-1 drones destroyed has reached 15,\u201d the IRGC said, describing the tally as evidence of the \u201ccontinued interception and confrontation by the country\u2019s air defense against American drones in our airspace.\u201d<\/p>\n The MQ-1 Predator is a medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft developed by General Atomics and operated primarily by the US Air Force.<\/p>\n Originally designated RQ-1 for reconnaissance missions, it was redesignated MQ-1 in 2002 after being armed with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, enabling it to conduct both intelligence-gathering and precision-strike operations.<\/p>\n The aircraft has been widely used in US military and surveillance operations across the West Asia region and beyond.<\/p>\n The IRGC said Thursday that its air defenses have downed a total of 68 US MQ-1 and MQ-9 drones since the start of the US-Israeli war.<\/p>\n In a related development, the IRGC said Monday night that its Aerospace Division had captured two more American MQM-170 reconnaissance drones in the skies south of Qeshm Island using advanced electronic warfare systems, bringing the total number of this type seized by its forces to four.<\/p>\n