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German navy almost shot down US drone over Red Sea — reports

February 28, 2024

A German warship in the Red Sea almost shot down a US drone in a narrowly averted case of friendly fire, according to reports.

https://p.dw.com/p/4d07P
A German warship in the Red Sea almost shot down a US drone in a narrowly averted case of friendly fire, say reports.
A German warship in the Red Sea almost shot down a US drone in a narrowly averted case of friendly fire, according to media reportsImage: Mohssen Assanimoghaddam/dpa/picture alliance

A German naval frigate sent to protect commercial ships in the Red Sea nearly shot down a US drone by accident, German media reported on Wednesday.

What do we know so far?

The German Defense Ministry confirmed a drone incident involving an allied nation occurred on Monday, without naming the country.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the Hesse frigate, which arrived in the region at the weekend as part of an EU mission to help secure international shipping from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, opened fire after efforts to identify the unknown drone "were unsuccessful."

Ministry spokesman Michael Stempfle said, "The case was resolved when it turned out that it wasn't a hostile drone, which only became clear in hindsight."

Fortunately, two missiles fired at the drone missed their target and crashed into the sea due to "a technical defect," according to Der Spiegel news magazine, which also claimed that the UAV in question was a US Reaper reconnaissance drone.

What was the US drone doing in the area?

Without citing its sources, Spiegel speculated that the drone may have been in the area "as part of an American anti-terror mission" unrelated to the Red Sea mission, but said military officials believed the friendly-fire incident showed that coordination between allies involved in various missions in the region around Yemen "needs to be improved."

The daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung added it was "common knowledge that American combat drones are used in the region that have nothing to do with the operation in the Red Sea."

The Hesse, which is crewed by 240 German soldiers and sailors, had more luck on Wednesday when it successfully shot down two Houthi drones in the space of 15 minutes.

The Hesse arrived in the Red Sea at the weekend after the German parliament approved its participation in the mission on Friday, according to the German military.

Pistorius on Wednesday said it had "turned out to be correct to send the frigate at the beginning of February so that it could begin its operations... immediately after the mandate was decided."

Can Africa profit from Red Sea crisis?

mf/sms (AFP, DPA)