A U.S. Army MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAV ‘drone’ successfully force landed in Niger in West Africa.
U.S. Africa Command said the remotely piloted aircraft conducted an emergency landing in the vicinity of Agadez, Niger, on 23 January.
“The aircraft experienced a mechanical malfunction while conducting a routine mission in support of operations in the region,” the command said in a Twitter post.
According to a tweet from U.S. Africa Command, an investigation into the cause of the malfunction will take place. The aircraft is under observation.
Details are still limited, but pictures circulating on social media shows that a U.S. Army drone was armed with at least one AGM-114 Hellfire missile.
The MQ-1C Gray Eagle is manufactured by General Atomics. It is the latest version of the Predator series of drones, retooled and upgraded for Army-specific needs. The Arme website said the MQ-1C has an endurance of 25 hours, speeds up to 167 KTAS, can operate up to 29,000 feet, and carries 1,075 lb (488 kg) of internal and external payload.
The aircraft can carry multiple payloads aloft, including Electro-optical/Infrared (EO/IR) with laser designation, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), communications relay, and four Hellfire missiles.
AGM-114 Hellfire missile
The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-surface missile first developed for anti-armour use, but later models were developed for precision drone strikes against other target types, and have been used in a number of actions aimed to “destroy high-value targets.”
UNIT COST: US$70,000 (FY 2021); US$117,000 (FY2017)
Operational Range: 546 yd. (0.499 km) to 6.84 mi (11.01 km)
Guidance System: Semi-active laser homing;millimetre wave radar seeker
Maximum Speed: Mach 1.3 (995 miles per hour, 1,601 km/h)
Length: 64 in (1.6 m)
Mass: 100–108 lb (45–49 kg)
Engine: Solid-fuel rocket
