The U.S. Navy admitted that it lost a $240 million spy drone during fighting in Iran, according to a new report.
It’s the first time an MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicle is known to have been lost since they were introduced into service in 2018. The drone was listed in a new naval report on aviation “mishaps” as having “crashed” on April 9, with the location of the accident withheld.
The crash marks just the latest entry on the ever-growing tab for President Trump’s war in Iran, which is thought to already stand in the tens of billions before any impact on the U.S. economy is considered.
Business Insider reports that an MQ-4C drone went dark in tracking software last week while it was flying over the Persian Gulf. That drone, manufactured by U.S.-based defense contractor Northrop Grumman, had taken off from Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy before it vanished.
It’s not clear if that is the same drone mentioned in the Navy’s mishaps report.
The War Zone first reported that an MQ-4C had been confirmed lost in the Navy’s own reporting, noting it was classified as a Class-A incident because it incurred more than $2 million in damages. According to the Navy report, published Tuesday, 2026 has already seen seven Class-A incidents, more than half of last year’s 12 and already only two fewer than 2024’s nine. The year of 2023 saw just seven.
According to the latest Navy budget documents, seen by the War Zone, it had 20 MQ-4Cs, costing $238 million apiece, with plans to purchase seven more.
By contrast, the Air Force’s better-known MQ-9 Reaper drone costs around $9 million.
According to military news outlet Task & Purpose, at least 16 such drones were lost during the fighting with Iran from Feb. 28 until the ceasefire.
Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, a former drone operator trainer, told the outlet that the losses were “a big deal.”
He added, “That is a significant percentage of the fleet, and there is no other aircraft that is positioned and ready to assume the responsibilities that the MQ-9 has across multiple combatant commands.
“And right now, there’s no plan to backfill all these aircraft being shot down.”
Kuwait also shot down a trio of F-15 fighter jets in a friendly fire incident, while Iran shot down another Strike Eagle and an A-10 Thunderbolt II.
The rescue operation for the Iran-downed F-15 led to the destruction of up to two more transport planes and up to four light helicopters by U.S. troops after they were unable to fly them out of Iranian territory. The exact numbers have not been confirmed.
The Daily Beast has reached out to U.S. Central Command for comment.
