Iran tried to shoot down US Reaper drone that arrived on scene of oil tanker attacks: officials

Iran tried to shoot down US Reaper drone that arrived on scene of oil tanker attacks: officials

https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-shoot-us-reaper-drone-oil-tanker-scene

Excerpt: The official said the first distress call from the MV Altair tanker, a Marshall Islands-flagged but Norwegian-owned crude oil tanker, went out at 6:12am local time. The unmanned MQ9 Reaper drone arrived 8 minutes later. Then at 6:45am local time, a missile was fired at the drone, but missed. The U.S. military said that it was a modified SA-7 fired from Iran’s mainland. It was fired on after the drone arrived on station to assist the Norwegian tanker. Officials also told Fox News that a U.S. MQ9 drone was shot down in Yemen by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in recent days. (This is becoming serious. Limpet mines are not usually placed above the water line, but below it to sink the target chip. So, this was intended to draw a reaction without actually sinking the ship. From the timing, it sounds as if the SAM was ready to go, perhaps intended to target a manned aircraft responding to the initial blasts. When no manned aircraft showed, the drone was targeted.  Drones are handy things to have, it seems. This one may have saved a pilot (or at least kept his trousers clean). There will surely be some sort of response to this. Stay tuned. Ron P.)