IRGC Claims It Downed Two MQM-170 Drones Near Qeshm Island

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed its electronic warfare units downed two U.S. MQM-170 drones south of Qeshm Island. The claim has not been independently verified.

Key details

• The IRGC said the two drones raised the number of MQM-170 aircraft captured by Iran to four.
• The IRGC also claimed its air defenses destroyed a U.S. MQ-9 over the eastern Strait of Hormuz, calling it the 55th American drone of that type it had intercepted and destroyed. Neither claim has independent verification in the cited reporting.
• Griffon Aerospace developed the MQM-170 Outlaw, which has been associated with aerial target and decoy roles.
• Iranian officials alleged the MQM-170 aircraft were gathering information on Iranian air-defense deployments; their mission has not been established.

The IRGC said the two MQM-170 drones brought the number of such aircraft captured by Iran to four.

Why it matters

The MQM-170 Outlaw serves in aerial target and decoy roles, distinct from the MQ-9 named in the IRGC’s separate claim. The reported aircraft count and mission allegation remain claims attributed to Iranian officials, rather than independently verified details.