A German naval frigate stationed in the Red Sea to protect merchant ships accidentally shot down a US drone, German media reported on Wednesday.
What do we know so far?
The German Defense Ministry confirmed on Monday a drone incident involving an allied country, without naming the country.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the Hessian frigate, which arrived in the region over the weekend as part of an EU mission to protect international shipping from attacks by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, opened fire after efforts to contain the unknown Identifying the drone was “unsuccessful”. “
Ministry spokesman Michael Stempfle said: “The case was clarified when it turned out that it was not an enemy drone, which only became clear afterwards.”
Fortunately, two missiles fired at the drone missed their target and fell into the sea due to a “technical defect,” according to news magazine Der Spiegel, which also claimed that the UAV was a US Reaper reconnaissance drone.
What was the US drone doing in the area?
Without citing a source, Spiegel speculated that the drone may have been in the area “as part of an American counterterrorism mission” that had nothing to do with the Red Sea mission. However, military officials believe the friendly fire incident is evidence that coordination between allies involved in various operations in the Yemen region “needs to be improved.”
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung added that it was “widely known that American combat drones are being used in the region, which have nothing to do with the operation in the Red Sea.”
The Hesse, which has 240 German soldiers and sailors on board, had better luck on Wednesday when it successfully shot down two Houthi drones within 15 minutes.
According to the Bundeswehr, the Hesse arrived in the Red Sea at the weekend after the Bundestag approved its participation in the mission on Friday.
Pistorius said on Wednesday that it “proved right to deploy the frigate at the beginning of February so that it could begin operations … immediately after the mandate decision.”
Can Africa benefit from the Red Sea crisis?
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MF/SMS (AFP, DPA)