Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Photos Of U.S. MQ-1C Drone Crash In Iraq Emerge On Social Media








An MQ-1C unmanned combat air vehicle appears in surprisingly good condition after the purported drone crash in Iraq


By Jacob Steinblatt on Jul 21, 2015 at 11:28 AM
 
Several photos posted to social media appeared to show an unmanned American combat drone having crashed near the souther Iraqi city of Samawah on Tuesday.

The MQ-1C unmanned combat air vehicle, designed as an upgrade to the US military’s infamous MQ-1 Predator, costs over $21 million, and can be outfitted to carry hellfire air-to-ground missiles.

Images that purported to be uploaded from Iraq by several Twitter accounts with the hashtag #Samawah showed the crashed drone in surprisingly good condition, with the system’s rear propellers being the only part suffering noticeable damage. One of the UAV’s fuel tanks even remained attached to the right wing. Additional pictures show about a dozen men, including two in what appear to be police uniform, milling around the drone crash site.

As the drone crashed far south of Baghdad, in government-held territory, it remains unlikely that it will ever make it’s way into ISIS’s hands. Other authorities acting in the region, however, could benefit from the drone crash. An Iranian drone first revealed in 2014, for example, was modeled after an advanced CIA drone that crashed in its territory in 2011.

According to the Washington Post, over 400 large U.S. military drones have crashed around the world since 2001 due to a variety of reasons including mechanical failures, pilot error, poor weather conditions, and more. A U.S. drone similarly crashed in southern Iraq in late May, though it was reportedly recovered.



Date:21-JUL-2015
Time:
Type:General Atomics MQ-1C Grey Eagle
Owner/operator:United States Air Force (USAF)
Registration: 207?
C/n / msn:
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Other fatalities:0
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:near Samawah -   Iraq
Phase: En route
Nature:Military
Departure airport:
Destination airport:
Narrative:
The drone obviously crashed due to a technical malfunction.
Sources