A US Air Force drone, part of a squadron permanently assigned to South Korea amid simmering military tensions in the region, crashed early Monday off the country’s west coast, according to military and media reports.
The MQ-9 Reaper drone, assigned to Kunsan Air Base, “was involved in an incident while performing a routine mission” near Maldo-Ri Island, a statement from the Air Force’s 8th Fighter Wing said.
Numerous local media reports said the aircraft had crashed.
The drone was assigned to the 431st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Kunsan, a unit just activated in September as Washington tries to bolster its forward presence in the Western Pacific.
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