Two Predator drones crashed in separate incidents, one in southern Turkey and one in Iraq, military officials said Wednesday. One MQ-1 was flying a mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve when it experienced a mechanical failure just after 9:30 p.m. local time on Oct. 19, the Air Force said. Pilots were able to maintain positive control and bring the Predator down in an unpopulated area; there were no military or civilian injuries. Officials will conduct an investigation to determine what exactly caused the crash. Two days earlier, on Oct. 17, an MQ-1 was flying southeast of Baghdad when the crew lost its link to the aircraft and it crashed near al Kut, OIR spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said. Iraqi police retrieved the Predator and returned it to US control, and there were no injuries, he added. Both drones were carrying Hellfire missiles when they crashed, but the missiles were safely recovered with the aircraft, Warren said. (Warren transcript.)
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.