Iran's IRGC says electronic warfare downed two US MQM-170 drones near Qeshm

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had downed two US MQM-170 drones south of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz using electronic warfare systems, Press TV reported. It was the latest announcement of its kind in recent days.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Monday evening that it had downed two US MQM-170 reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz using electronic warfare systems, Iran's English-language Press TV reported.

The US military and US Central Command have not yet commented on the Iranian announcement. The Iranian account could not be independently verified.

Third announcement in recent days

The announcement came days after the IRGC Aerospace Force said on October 30 that it had taken control of a drone of the same model over Qeshm Island and brought it down intact using electronic warfare capabilities. The IRGC Navy had previously announced the seizure of another MQM-170 drone west of the Strait of Hormuz. Last week, the IRGC also announced that it had intercepted a US MQ-1 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Sirik.

صورة فضائية لجزيرة قشم في مضيق هرمز

MQM-170 drones are primarily used as aerial targets to simulate threats during exercises, as well as for reconnaissance and decoy missions. They are less advanced than larger US reconnaissance drones such as the MQ-9. Qeshm Island, the largest island in the Gulf, lies at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, where tensions have been escalating amid the war between Iran and the United States.

Images: Iranian media, NASA (archive)