Iran displays captured ScanEagle UAV

Iranian television has shown footage of the ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) claims to have recently captured.

Iran announced on 4 December that the UAV had been captured in an unspecified way after it violated its airspace over the Gulf. The television footage showed an undamaged Boeing/Insitu ScanEagle: a small, long-endurance UAV.

"The US drone, which was conducting a reconnaissance flight and gathering data over the Persian Gulf in the past few days, was captured by the guard's navy air defence unit as soon as it entered Iranian airspace," General Ali Fadavi, the head of the IRGC's naval wing, said. "Such drones usually take off from large warships."

The US Navy responded by saying all its ScanEagle UAVs were accounted for, raising the possibility that it was operated by another country or branch of the US military.

A factsheet available online indicates that the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) operates ScanEagles. However, AFSOC spokesman Matt Durham told IHS Jane's that this is not the case.