According to report by Time of India (TOI) on Saturday 19, September 2026, The US is losing more aircraft over the Middle East and Iran says the losses are piling up fast. At least two US military surveillance aircraft were shot down by Iranian forces during recent attacks in the region.

According to CBS News, which cited unnamed US officials, the aircraft were identified as belonging to the MQ1 family of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Although US officials did not immediately specify exactly which variants were involved, they also did not reveal where the two drones were brought down or explain the circumstances surrounding their losses.

And that distinction matters because the MQ1 family covers aircraft with very different capabilities and price tags.

The older MQ1 Predator has been valued at roughly $4 million per aircraft, while newer variants of the Grey Eagle system can cost substantially more.

But these latest reported shootdowns come as Washington faces growing scrutiny over the number of unmanned aircraft being lost during the continuing conflict with Iran.

A US Congressional Budget Office report issued this week indicated that 24 MQ9 Reaper drones had been lost since March, according to the report’s account. And Iran is claiming the number is even higher.

On Thursday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC said its forces had shot down a US-made MQ9 Reaper over Keshum Island, strategically located in the Strait of Hormuz.

The IRGC went further, claiming the aircraft was the 53rd MQ9 it had brought down during the conflict. That figure has not been independently verified, and it is significantly higher than the losses cited in the Congressional Budget Office account.

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