The US Air Force has lost between 24 and 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones since the start of its conflict with Iran, reducing the operational fleet to roughly 135 aircraft. That’s more than a quarter of the force, wiped out in roughly five months of fighting, according to The Washington Post.
For a weapons system that stopped rolling off the assembly line in 2025, those numbers carry a weight that goes well beyond the battlefield.
The cost of Operation Epic Fury
The losses stem from Operation Epic Fury, the US military campaign launched alongside Israel on February 28, 2026, targeting Iran and its allied forces across the region. Iranian air defenses have been the primary cause of the attrition, though some Reapers were reportedly destroyed on the ground before they could even take off.
Iran has publicly claimed responsibility for shooting down multiple drones, with state media broadcasting individual shootdown reports as early as March 2026. US officials have confirmed at least some of those claims.
