Missing US $20 million drone on the Strait of Hormuz, crashed or crashed?
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US Navy surveillance drone MQ-4C.
A US Navy surveillance drone MQ-4C went missing over the Strait of Hormuz on Friday (April 10). It sent an emergency warning in flight shortly before disappearing. It is not yet clear whether the drone crashed or was shot down. News from NDTV.
According to reports, the drone was on its way back to Italy’s Naval Air Station Sigonella after nearly three hours of surveillance over the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz area. At that point it sent ‘code 7700’—the general emergency signal—and began to slowly lose altitude. At that time, the drone was also reported to have moved slightly towards Iran.
The incident happened just two days after the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran. In that deal, Iran agreed to reopen shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz.
The MQ-4C Triton is one of the most expensive surveillance drones in the United States, costing more than $200 million. It is capable of conducting strategic surveillance over a wide sea area for long periods of time and is often used as the auxiliary ‘sky eye’ of the P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft. These drones are deployed in the Gulf region under the US Central Command.
Source: Jugantor
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