A German navy frigate participating in the international operation to protect navigation in the Red Sea almost shot down an American drone by mistake, German media reported on Wednesday.
The German Defense Ministry confirmed that an incident involving a drone from an allied country occurred on Monday, without specifying the country in question.
The Hessen frigate opened fire after trying
“unsuccessfully”
to identify an unknown drone, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said, specifying that the target had
“not been hit”
.
The drone later turned out to be a
“reconnaissance drone
,” he added.
According to the weekly Der Spiegel, this device was an American Reaper drone.
The German Defense Ministry said the frigate fired because none of its allies had reported the presence of a drone in the area.
According to Spiegel, military officials believe that this incident shows that coordination between allies participating in missions in the sector
“needs to be improved”
.