The U.S. lost two drones over Syria Tuesday after a mid air collision, a defense official announced.
Images of burning aircraft crashing to the ground were posted on Twitter Tuesday. There was speculation that the aircraft were MQ-9 Reapers — a remotely piloted aircraft used predominantly as an armed hunter-killer drone, but also capable of surveillance and intelligence collection — and were shot down.
However, the defense official could not confirm the type of drone involved.
Reports indicate there was a collision, the defense official said, but whether they were shot at afterwards — and whether that caused the crash — is unclear.
A shootdown of a Reaper is not without precedent.
Houthi rebels in Yemen shot down a Reaper in June of 2019, according to a CENTCOM statement at the time.
Source: Military Times