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 by Staff Writers Niamey (AFP) May 7, 2020
The US military in Niger said Thursday they had lost a second drone in two months, both through technical failure rather than from hostile action in the conflict-torn country. "A... remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) was lost near Agadez, Niger, April 23," US Africa Command said in an email to AFP. "U.S. forces secured the RPA on April 24. Reports indicate the RPA experienced mechanical failure. The RPA was not lost due to any hostile action," it said. A drone crashed in the Agadez region on February 29, the US military announced after that loss, saying that the incident was also due to mechanical failure. According to the website Military Times, the drone lost in February was an MQ-1 Predator, a long-endurance aircraft. US Africa Command operate a specialised drone base in Agadez that provides them with a major surveillance platform in the Sahel, where fragile governments backed by France are battling a jihadist insurgency. The US has also flown drones from near Niamey, the capital of Niger, which is in the southwest of the country. Niger has given the US permission to base armed drones on its soil. The US presence in Niger was revealed on October 4, 2017, when four US soldiers and five Nigerien troops were killed in an ambush by fighters affiliated with the Islamic State group. The Agadez base was completed last year at a cost around $100 million. Earlier this year, its closure was reported to be among options being considered by the Pentagon to reduce the US mililtary presence in Africa. Washington has some 7,000 special forces on rotation in Africa carrying out joint operations with national forces against jihadists, particularly in Somalia.
Pentagon announces new mission for secretive space drone Washington (AFP) May 6, 2020 The US Air Force said Wednesday it would be sending its high-tech X-37B space drone back into orbit this month - the sixth trip for the reusable vehicle that maneuvers around the Earth on secretive missions. The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, which looks like a small version of the manned space shuttles retired in 2011, will be launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on May 16, the Air Force said. Once in orbit, it will deploy a small FalconSat-8 research satellite and, for the first time, also ca ... read more
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