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Friday, August 14, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Friday, August 14, 2026
US military has lost around 1/4 of its Reaper drone fleet amid Iran war — report
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A MQ-9 Reaper drone is on display before US President Donald Trump speaks at Al Udeid Air Base, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The United States military has lost some 25 percent of its fleet of Reaper drones amid the war with Iran, the Washington Post reports.
A US official cited by the newspaper says not all of the 45 drones that were lost were shot down, with an unspecified number of the unmanned aircraft crashing after losing communication with their operators.
The report doesn’t specify how many drones were downed by Iran itself, as it notes that Iranian proxy groups in Iraq and Yemen also possess capabilities to shoot down Reapers.
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