virginia, April 16 -- The United States has confirmed the loss of an MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicle, according to a recent mishap summary released by the United States Naval Safety Command. The US high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) maritime aircraft reportedly crashed in the Persian Gulf, with officials now confirming the incident. Under the classification system used by the United States Department of War, any incident involving damage exceeding $2.5 million is categorised as a Class A mishap. Media reports citing CBS estimate the value of the reconnaissance aircraft involved in the latest incident at around $240-250 million. Initial reports suggested that Iranian forces had destroyed the drone during confrontations. However, US authorities have now confirmed that the drone has "crashed." The United States Naval Safety Command's latest publicly available mishap summary report includes the following brief entry: "9 Apr 2026 (Location Withheld - OPSEC) MQ-4C crashed; no injury to personnel." In a separate report, Xinhua News Agency, citing CBS News, stated that the United States has lost 24 MQ-9 Reaper drones to Iran amid escalating tensions around the Strait of Hormuz since April 1. The report added that these losses amount to an estimated $720 million....