US loses drone in Iran and another crashes in Seychelles - but it's just the tip of the iceberg
These aren't the only two drone crashes. They have been coming to grief across the globe, according to the Drone Wars UK website, and they're not always owned by the Americans.** The website claims 25 large drone crashes have occurred this year alone and more than 90 since 2007. Here are some recent highlights:**__
IRAN, DECEMBER 2011: The Iranian government claims it downed a US RQ-170 Sentinel drone 140 miles from the Afghan border earlier this month. Pictures of the spy plane, apparently undamaged, were broadcast on state TV. It is thought to be the first Sentinel ever lost by the US and the footage showed it next to a banner emblazoned with the words: "The US can't do a damn thing". Barack Obama has asked for the return of the drone. Iran has refused to cooperate.
YEMEN, FEBRUARY 2011: Iran isn't the only one of America's enemies to have got its hands on a US drone this year. In February a USAF Predator went down near the Yemeni town of Loder. The police were called to the scene and they collected the debris, but as they headed to a police station a gang of al-Qaeda gunmen hijacked the convoy and disappeared with the wreckage. The US had been using drones to monitor al-Qaeda activity in the country.
AFGHANISTAN, AUGUST 2011: Drones do not only crash on land, in August a US Shadow aircraft collided with a C-130 cargo plane over Afghanistan. Fortunately no-one was injured but the drone disappeared and the cargo plane was forced to make an emergency landing. The crash raised concerns about the use of drones around other aircraft, particularly after a US military official appeared oblivious to the danger of a crash when he told the Wall Street Journal: "We were in complete control up until the collision."
PAKISTAN, JULY 2011: Much of the US drone activity takes place in Pakistan, but that country has drones of its own, and they too crash. In July an unidentified Pakistani navy drone crashed into the Korangi oil refinery in the port city of Karachi, starting a fire. It was reported that the aircraft was downed by a bird strike. The refinery, in a no-fly zone, was being monitored after a terrorist attack earlier in the year that killed 10 people.
TEXAS, DECEMBER 2010: Sometimes drones crash in America. This out-of-control Mexican Orbiter came down in a residential neighbourhood of El Paso in Texas. The drone was believed to be part of a surveillance test, but it was unclear whether the Mexican government had permission to enter US airspace. The US authorities refused to provide details of the incident but, unlike Iran, the US returned the drone to the Mexicans.
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These aren't the only two drone crashes. They have been coming to grief across the globe, according to the Drone Wars UK website, and they're not always owned by the Americans.** The website claims 25 large drone crashes have occurred this year alone and more than 90 since 2007. Here are some recent highlights:**__
IRAN, DECEMBER 2011: The Iranian government claims it downed a US RQ-170 Sentinel drone 140 miles from the Afghan border earlier this month. Pictures of the spy plane, apparently undamaged, were broadcast on state TV. It is thought to be the first Sentinel ever lost by the US and the footage showed it next to a banner emblazoned with the words: "The US can't do a damn thing". Barack Obama has asked for the return of the drone. Iran has refused to cooperate.
YEMEN, FEBRUARY 2011: Iran isn't the only one of America's enemies to have got its hands on a US drone this year. In February a USAF Predator went down near the Yemeni town of Loder. The police were called to the scene and they collected the debris, but as they headed to a police station a gang of al-Qaeda gunmen hijacked the convoy and disappeared with the wreckage. The US had been using drones to monitor al-Qaeda activity in the country.
AFGHANISTAN, AUGUST 2011: Drones do not only crash on land, in August a US Shadow aircraft collided with a C-130 cargo plane over Afghanistan. Fortunately no-one was injured but the drone disappeared and the cargo plane was forced to make an emergency landing. The crash raised concerns about the use of drones around other aircraft, particularly after a US military official appeared oblivious to the danger of a crash when he told the Wall Street Journal: "We were in complete control up until the collision."
PAKISTAN, JULY 2011: Much of the US drone activity takes place in Pakistan, but that country has drones of its own, and they too crash. In July an unidentified Pakistani navy drone crashed into the Korangi oil refinery in the port city of Karachi, starting a fire. It was reported that the aircraft was downed by a bird strike. The refinery, in a no-fly zone, was being monitored after a terrorist attack earlier in the year that killed 10 people.
TEXAS, DECEMBER 2010: Sometimes drones crash in America. This out-of-control Mexican Orbiter came down in a residential neighbourhood of El Paso in Texas. The drone was believed to be part of a surveillance test, but it was unclear whether the Mexican government had permission to enter US airspace. The US authorities refused to provide details of the incident but, unlike Iran, the US returned the drone to the Mexicans.