Tuesday, June 21, 2011

NATO’s First Combat Casualty In Libya Is A Drone Copter



Drone Copter Is NATO’s First Combat Casualty In Libya -- The Danger Room

NATO has suffered its first apparent combat casualty of the three-month-old war in Libya. And it’s a robot.

Wing Cmdr. Mike Bracken said the alliance lost contact with the unmanned rotorcraft this morning. “This drone helicopter was performing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance over Libya to monitor pro-Gadhafi forces threatening the civilian population,” Bracken said.

Libyan state TV showed wreckage of the drone and claimed it was from a manned Apache gunship Gadhafi’s forces had shot down 85 miles east of Tripoli. But the debris’ color, shape and markings prove it was from an MQ-8 Fire Scout, a so-called “Vertical-Takeoff Unmanned Aerial Vehicle” built by Northrop Grumman.

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More News On NATO's Loss Of A Drone Copter In Libya

Pressure Mounts on NATO as Drone Helicopter Goes Missing in Libya -- Voice of America
NATO loses contact with drone chopper over Libya -- AP
Helicopter lost over Libya is new US drone: officials -- AFP
NATO drone goes down in Libya -- CNN
Libya conflict: Nato loses drone helicopter -- BBC
Fire Scout Crashes During Libya Mission -- Aviaiton Week
NATO Loses New U.S. Drone Helicopter in Libya -- Defense News/AFP

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