US lost 45 Reaper drones in Iran war, costing over $1.3bn
Washington Post report cites officials on losses of slow, low-flying surveillance aircraft around the Strait of Hormuz
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
US lost 45 Reaper drones in Iran war, costing over $1.3bn
Photograph: Anadolu Ajansı (embedded from source)
What this story says
- The US military lost at least 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones during its war with Iran, according to a Washington Post report citing three officials.
- The losses represent roughly 25% of the combined Air Force and Marine Corps fleet before the war began, with a potential cost exceeding $1.3bn.
- The drones, used for surveillance and strikes, are described as relatively easy targets for Iran and its proxies due to their slow speed and low-altitude flights.
- No centre-rated outlet reported the story, leaving a gap in coverage from that segment of the media.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 4 of the 10 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
50/100
Craft
55/100
Hype
30/100
10 sources · methodology
The US military has lost at least 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones during its war with Iran. The Washington Post reported the figure on 13 August 2026, citing three unnamed officials. The losses represent roughly 25% of the combined Air Force and Marine Corps fleet before the war began. The Air Force had about 165 Reapers and the Marine Corps 20, according to public budget data and service records.
The MQ-9 Reaper is used for surveillance and targeted strikes. Each drone costs between $30 million and $50 million, depending on its equipment. The Washington Post estimated the potential cost of the lost drones at more than $1.3bn. The drones have been heavily used around the Strait of Hormuz but are described as relatively easy targets for Iran and its proxies because they fly slowly and often at low altitudes.
Not all of the drones were shot down. One official told the Washington Post that an unspecified number crashed after operators lost communications links. Air Force Lt. Gen. David Tabor told the Senate in May 2026 that the number of Reapers had fallen to about 135.
What the coverage left out
No centre-rated outlet ran the story. None of the right-rated digests mentioned that an unspecified number of drones crashed after operators lost communications links, a detail included in the Washington Post’s report and Anadolu Ajansı’s full article.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 13 Aug 2026, 20:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
1 rated outlet
- The Washington Post led its report with the number of drones lost and the potential cost, which it put at more than $1.3bn. It included the detail that not all drones were shot down, with some crashing after communications links were lost. The report also quoted Air Force Lt. Gen. David Tabor’s testimony to the Senate in May 2026 on the reduced fleet size.
Centre
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated centre has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Right
5 rated outlets
- The five right-rated digests all carried the number of drones lost and the potential cost of the losses. Anadolu Ajansı, the only right-rated outlet to publish a full report, led with the 25% fleet loss figure and included the detail that the drones are relatively easy targets for Iran and its proxies. It also noted that the Air Force fleet had fallen to about 135 by May 2026, according to Lt. Gen. Tabor’s Senate testimony.
- The digests from ussanews.com, India Today, Korrespondent.net and Al Arabiya all mentioned the $1.3bn cost estimate. India Today’s digest added that the losses had added pressure on US weapons stocks and replenishment plans. None of the right-rated digests mentioned that some drones crashed after communications links were lost.
Read it at the source
10 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
5- US lost quarter of its Reaper drones in Iran war – WaPo (opens ussanews.com in a new tab)
ussanews.com — is ussanews.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US loses one-fourth of drone fleet as Iran war drains its arsenal: Report (opens India Today in a new tab)
India Today — is India Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
- The US Lost Reaper Drones in the War with Iran (opens Korrespondent.net in a new tab)
Korrespondent.net — is Korrespondent.net biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US military has lost at least 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones during Iran war: Report (opens Al Arabiya in a new tab)
Al Arabiya — is Al Arabiya biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US military loses roughly 25% of Reaper drone fleet in Iran war: Report (opens Anadolu Ajansı in a new tab)
Anadolu Ajansı — is Anadolu Ajansı biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
4- US military loses roughly 25% of Reaper drone fleet in Iran war: Report (opens Aletho News in a new tab)
Aletho News — is Aletho News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Ammunition Crisis Leaked to the Press: US Military's MQ-9 Fleet Is Dwindling. (opens Akşam in a new tab)
- The US Lost 25% of Its MQ-9 Reaper Drones in the War with Iran. (opens Haberler in a new tab)
- US said to lose 25% of Reaper drones in Iran war (opens BizToc in a new tab)
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover US lost 45 Reaper drones in Iran war, costing over $1.3bn?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 17% are rated left, 0% are rated centre, 83% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 10. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is US lost 45 Reaper drones in Iran war, costing over $1.3bn left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of US lost 45 Reaper drones in Iran war, costing over $1.3bn biased?
- US lost 45 Reaper drones in Iran war, costing over $1.3bn is one event reported by 10 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered US lost 45 Reaper drones in Iran war, costing over $1.3bn?
- 10 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How many Reaper drones has the US lost in the war with Iran?
- The US military has lost at least 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones during its war with Iran, according to a Washington Post report citing three officials. This represents roughly 25% of the combined Air Force and Marine Corps fleet before the war began.
- What is the estimated cost of the lost Reaper drones?
- The potential cost of the lost MQ-9 Reaper drones exceeds $1.3bn, as reported by the Washington Post. Each drone costs between $30 million and $50 million, depending on its equipment.
- Why are Reaper drones considered easy targets for Iran?
- Reaper drones are described as relatively easy targets for Iran and its proxies because they fly slowly and often at low altitudes, according to the Washington Post. This makes them vulnerable to air defences.
- Which outlets reported the drone losses?
- The story was reported by one left-rated outlet, the Washington Post, and five right-rated outlets: Anadolu Ajansı, ussanews.com, India Today, Korrespondent.net and Al Arabiya. No centre-rated outlet covered it.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
