00:21Iran now claims it has shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
00:28The claim comes from Iran's army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,
00:35which say the drone was intercepted with precision and completely destroyed.
00:41If true, this marks yet another blow to U.S. aerial surveillance operations in the region.
00:48According to Iranian state media, this would take the total number of U.S. and Israeli drones
00:55downed to 138 since the war began around late February.
01:01However, there is a key detail.
01:04The United States has not confirmed this specific incident,
01:08even though it has acknowledged losing MQ-9 Reapers earlier in the conflict.
01:13So how is Iran managing to bring down some of the world's most advanced drones?
01:20The MQ-9 Reaper and Israeli Hermes drones are built for long endurance missions,
01:27flying at high altitudes for surveillance and targeted strikes.
01:31But they are not stealth aircraft.
01:34And that makes them vulnerable inside heavily defended airspace like Iran.
01:40Iran operates a layered air defense system with long-range missile platforms,
01:46mobile launchers, and electronic warfare tools working together.
01:50Systems like Bavar-373 and Sivam-Kordat can detect and track slow-moving UAVs
01:59and strike them with precision missiles.
02:02These drones fly at predictable speeds and altitudes,
02:06often loitering for hours, making them easier targets once detected.
02:11Open source reports suggest multiple Israeli drones have also been downed,
02:17along with more than a dozen U.S. MQ-9 losses in the early phase of the war.
02:23Each of these drones can cost tens of millions of dollars,
02:27pushing total losses into hundreds of millions.
02:31Now, the situation is escalating even further.
02:35Iran has issued a warning saying homes of American and Israeli officials
02:40could be considered legitimate targets.
02:42For now, it is unclear whether this is a psychological warning
02:47or a real operational threat.
02:50But one thing is certain.
02:52This conflict is rapidly evolving,
02:54and the cost of modern warfare is rising on all sides.
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