Iranian state media on Sunday published photographs claiming to show the wreckage of a U.S.-made MQ-9 Reaper drone shot down by Iranian air defenses.
However, technical analysis of the debris suggests that the downed aircraft was an Iranian Shahed-136 long-range one-way attack drone.
The released images show a drone with a delta-shaped wing, similar in design and structure to the Shahed-136. The warhead remnants visible in the photos resemble those documented by Conflict Armament Research (CAR), a group that has investigated debris from Iranian drones used by Russian forces in Ukraine.
According to CAR’s earlier reports, the similar Shahed-136 warhead features a conical steel nose section approximately 7mm thick.
The design is intended to pierce walls or fortified structures before detonation—characteristics absent from the MQ-9, which is built for surveillance and strike missions and does not use direct-impact warheads.
Other elements visible in the images, including technical inspection panels and the overall construction layout, match previous Shahed-136 wreckage documented in Ukraine and the Middle East. The drone also carried a warhead similar in shape and casing to those recovered after Russian strikes, raising further doubts about the authenticity of Iran’s claim.
No identifying features linked to the MQ-9—such as sensor turrets, engine components, or wing-mounted payload systems—can be seen in the photographs.
Iran did not disclose when or where the alleged shootdown took place. The lack of metadata and context surrounding the images leaves open the possibility of either a misidentification or an attempt to present domestic losses as foreign intrusions.
In a statement, Iranian officials said only that “a hostile drone” had been shot down and suggested it belonged to the United States. No U.S. confirmation has followed. The Pentagon has not reported any MQ-9 losses or acknowledged any recent incidents involving U.S. drones over or near Iranian territory.
It remains unclear whether the drone was brought down by Iranian air defense forces during heightened alert conditions, or if it crashed due to technical failure. In either case, based on available visual evidence, the drone in question was almost certainly Iranian in origin.