Drone - Global Hawk skadd i Midtøsten - Tyler Rogoway

The Class-A mishap reduced the BAMS-D fleet to just two operational drones remaining.

An RQ-4A BAMS-D (Broad Area Maritime Surveillance – Demonstrator) of the U.S. Navy was damaged by unspecified Foreign Object Debris (FOD) while taking off for a mission in the Middle East. The incident, first reported by USNI News on December 12, happened on Nov. 26, 2019.

Here’s the full statement from the US 5th Fleet:

“On 26 November, 2019, a U.S. Navy RQ-4A Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Aircraft Demonstration (BAMS-D) struck foreign object debris (FOD) during takeoff while supporting operations in the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility. The mishap resulted in damage to the port side of the aircraft. No personnel were injured. A mishap investigation is ongoing and we therefore have no further releasable details.”