TEHRAN – The Iranian Army (Artesh) downed 17 Israeli drones—including advanced Heron and Hermes models—over western Iran during the 12-day war with the regime, Brigadier General Soleiman Taheri, commander of the Army’s Ground Forces in the Western Regional Headquarters, announced Tuesday.

Among the downed UAVs was a sophisticated Heron reconnaissance and combat drone, valued at approximately $40 million, shot down by Iran’s indigenously developed Majid air defense system. 

Ground Force Air Defense units detected and eliminated all 17 drones as they attempted to infiltrate Iranian airspace. 

The Heron—capable of 30-hour endurance, a 9 km ceiling, and speeds of 150–180 km/h—was successfully engaged by Majid in western Iran, underscoring Iran’s ability to counter high-value, low-signature threats. 

Most of the other drones were Hermes-class UAVs, including the Hermes 900 (priced at $25–30 million each), which can fly at 70 mph up to 30,000 ft and carry electro-optical systems, synthetic aperture radar, and precision weapons such as the Mikholit glide bomb. 

“All were neutralized using entirely indigenous equipment and weapons engineered by Iranian specialists,” Taheri added. 

In a separate incident, Iranian forces shot down three more Hermes 900 drones—one over Markazi Province (likely via Arman or S-300PMU-2 systems) and two near the Iraq border. Each loss, at $25–40 million per unit, delivers a significant financial and operational blow to Israel’s cross-border espionage and preemptive-strike capabilities.  

The war between Iran and Israel broke out on June 13, after the regime launched airstrikes on Iranian soil, targeting residential buildings, military sites, and nuclear facilities. Iran pounded Israeli cities for the next 12 days in response. The fighting came to a halt on June 24 following a proposal from the United States, which also joined Israel’s war of aggression against Iran by attacking three of the country’s nuclear sites. 

A key concern for the Israeli regime throughout the war with Iran has been financial loss, driven by both the downing of its military hardware over Iran and the damage caused by Iranian missiles within the occupied territories.