By Oisin Sweeney • Published: 27 Dec 2020 • 7:13
A BRITISH Military drone crashed during a Cyprus training exercise in October, it has recently been revealed.
The drone, which is the same model used to monitor migrant crossings in the English Channel, is part of the UK’s £1 billion pound Watchkeeper drone programme which saw five crashes between 2014 and 2018.
A military spokesperson stated: “We will affirm that on 14 October 2020, throughout routine flying coaching, there was an incident involving a Watchkeeper at Akrotiri in Cyprus, leading to some harm to the plane. A full investigation is underway and as such it will be inappropriate to remark additional at the moment.”
No troops were injured during the troincident and the military has stated it will fully comply with any investigation into the incident.
Originally purchased to be deployed in Afghanistan, Britain’s drone fleet is with a range of intelligence and reconnaissance cameras. The unmanned aircraft have been used by the UK Border Force to patrol the Channel since September under Operation Devran, although this recent criticism has led critics to accuse the drones of being unable to operate in bad weather conditions.
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Oisin is an Irish writer based in Seville, the sunny capital of Andalucia. After starting his working life as a bookseller, he moved into journalism and cut his teeth as a reporter at one of Ireland's biggest news websites. Since joining Euro Weekly News in November, he has enjoyed covering the latest stories from Seville, Spain and further afield - with special interests in crime, cybersecurity, and European politics. Anyone who can pronounce his name first try gets a free cerveza...
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