The Washington Post reported on Thursday that the United States has lost at least 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones during its military operations against Iran. This loss represents approximately 25 percent of the US military’s drone fleet, with the total cost to taxpayers exceeding USD 1.3 billion, according to unnamed officials cited in the report.
A US official, quoted by the newspaper, said that not all Reapers were shot down, some crashed due to a failure of the communication link. There were approximately 185 Reapers in the US military fleet – 165 in the Air Force and 20 in the Marine Corps – before the conflict began, according to public budget data and the services. In May, Lt Gen David Tabor, a senior Air Force officer at the Pentagon, told the Senate that the number of remaining drones had fallen to about 135.
At the time, Tabor told lawmakers he was “concerned” about the losses and that the Air Force was exploring how to quickly replenish its fleet.
