The Inside Story of the MQ-9 Drone Crashing into the Sea: The US Military Admits It Shot It Down, Saying It Was Possibly Interfered With by a Certain Country!
Latest disclosed information shows that the US military not only intentionally shot down this unmanned combat platform worth about $32 million, but also publicly hinted for the first time that its loss of control may be related to external electronic interference.
According to the preliminary accident report submitted by the US Pacific Air Forces to Congress, this MQ-9 belonged to the 319th Reconnaissance Squadron stationed at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. It had been temporarily deployed to Gunsan Air Base in South Korea to conduct continuous surveillance of the surrounding sea areas of the Korean Peninsula.
On the day of the incident, the aircraft took off as planned to conduct routine reconnaissance flights over the Yellow Sea for joint naval exercises of a certain country. The flight altitude was approximately 25,000 feet, and the endurance was approaching the end of the mission.
However, after about six hours of flight, the ground control station suddenly lost data link communication with the drone. According to US records, starting from 10:17 AM local time, remote control commands could not be uploaded, video transmission was interrupted, and the aircraft entered "autonomous return" mode. The operators then attempted continuously to re-establish the connection through satellite links and line-of-sight microwave links, making a total of 13 reconnection attempts, all of which failed.
More importantly, during the period of losing contact, the MQ-9 did not return to Gunsan Base according to the pre-set procedure, but instead began deviating from its course, moving southwestward, eventually entering South Korean airspace. To prevent it from falling into the hands of another country or causing civil aviation safety risks, the US military jointly with the South Korean air defense command system shot it down.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1850294149963018/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.