The images themselves corroborate the major's claim, because it doesn't seem like the plane was shot down, and the damage it incurred at least looked consistent with a crash. MQ-1 Predator Gray Eagle drones are part of the U.S. Army's Aviation Modernization Plan, cost around $21 million each and can carry payload, including Hellfire missiles, weighing up to 1,075 pounds. David, who didn't elaborate on what the broken drone was used for, said the broken UAV wasn't carrying any weapon. At the moment, Pentagon is working with Iraq to recover the MQ-1's metallic carcass, even though the drone might never fly again.
The Pentagon confirmed that pictures of a drone crash in Iraq that appeared on the internet were real. A military spokesperson said in a statement, "We can confirm an MQ-1 crashed on its way to its recovery base in Iraq [...] We are working with our Iraqi partners and will provide updates as they become available."