UPDATED: Did a French UAV Crash in Somalia?

In November 2011, the Camcopter successfully completed flight trials from the deck of the French Navy’s Gowind-class patrol vessel L’Adroit, which is significant considering the previous French involvement near the town.

Two French frigates—the FS Guepratte and FS Nivose—are currently patrolling the Somali coast in support of anti-piracy missions as part of the European Union’s Operation Atalanta, both of which have deployed with Panther helicopters on board.

In the unsuccessful January commando raid, two French operators were killed and the kidnapped intel officer was “assassinated” according to French officials.

Officials at AFRICOM and the Pentagon have yet to respond to a request for comment.

[UPDATE]: Late yesterday afternoon, Politico confirmed that it was indeed a US drone that went down. Now the question is, whose UAV was it? Signs seem to point to US Special Operations forces, since back at the 2011 Paris Air Show a Schiebel exec said that he expected a contract for the S-100 with US Special Operations command to happen soon.

Also, in 2009, Boeing and Schiebel signed a deal with Boeing for the defense giant to market the S-100 in the United States.

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Paul McLeary

McLeary covers national security policies at the White House, Pentagon, the Hill, and State Department.
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