The US Navy has officially confirmed that one of its MQ-4C Triton high-altitude surveillance drones was destroyed after an “accident” over the Persian Gulf last week.
The incident involving the $238 million drone, one of the most advanced intelligence assets in the US arsenal, occurred at a time of heightened tensions in the region and the fragile ceasefire situation with Iran.
Let us tell you that according to a report of the Naval Safety Command released on Tuesday, this plane crashed on April 9. The Navy classified the incident as a “Class A accident”; This category is reserved for incidents that result in property damage of more than $2 million, or the total destruction of the aircraft.
The drone suddenly disappeared from online flight tracking sites.
When the plane suddenly disappeared from online flight tracking sites while flying over the Persian Gulf, multiple sources reported that it was shot down by Iranian air defense forces.
Iranian media wrote that the MQ-4C is a much rarer and more valuable aircraft than the F-15E strike fighter, MQ-9 drone and other aircraft shot down by the Iranian military. More valuable than this was the only US Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, which was destroyed on the ground in Saudi Arabia.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations gave this statement
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Majid Takht Ravanchi, reported at the time that the plane “flew from the Strait of Hormuz to Chabahar port in complete ‘stealth mode’ as it had turned off its detection equipment and was apparently engaged in a spying operation. As the US plane was returning to the western parts of the region near the Strait of Hormuz, despite repeated radio warnings, it entered Iranian airspace. Gone.”
In a separate report, Xinhua News Agency cited US media as saying that the US has lost 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones to Iran amid rising tensions around the Strait of Hormuz since April 1. The report further states that the estimated cost of these losses is US$720 million. Depending on the type of drone, an MQ-9 Reaper drone can cost US$30 million or more.