Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) announced that it captured a US MQM-170 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the western Strait of Hormuz through an electronic warfare operation, bringing the aircraft down undamaged.
According to a written statement from the Revolutionary Guard, electronic warfare specialists detected the American drone, took control of its guidance and navigation systems, and subsequently landed it intact.
The statement alleged that the UAV's mission was to identify Iran's air defense infrastructure along the Persian Gulf coastline and in the Strait of Hormuz. A technical analysis conducted by Iranian experts reportedly determined that the drone had taken off from a country on the southern shore of the Persian Gulf.
Earlier the same morning, the Revolutionary Guard had announced that a US MQ-1 drone had been shot down in the eastern Strait of Hormuz. Iran's armed forces claim to have downed or captured a total of 14 MQ-1 and 54 MQ-9 type American drones to date. US officials have not issued an official response to these claims.
