U.S. UAV Reportedly Brought Down in Iran

An unnamed U.S. official has reportedly confirmed the Dec. 4 claim that a U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) had crashed in Iranian territory. Iran claimed it was responsible for bringing down the aircraft and that it had recovered it largely intact. The United States has long waged a broad intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance campaign in Iran, so it is plausible — and even likely — that it would eventually lose a UAV in these efforts. No matter the circumstances of the crash, that struggle continues.