Allies probe accidental targeting of US drone by German navy frigate

COLOGNE, Germany — U.S. military officials are working with the European Union to review an incident in which German frigate Hessen fired twice at an MQ-9 drone earlier this week during a multinational naval protection mission in the Red Sea.

The German vessel, newly arrived in the theater of operations, fired two Standard Missile-2 interceptors at the U.S. drone, but both missed, as German military news website Augengeradeaus first reported.

The attempted shoot-down came after a query with nearby allies about the status of the drone, which flew without a transponder turned on that would allow coalition forces to identify it as friendly, according to the report.

“We can confirm that a U.S. MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle was targeted in the Red Sea Feb. 27,” a U.S. defense official told Defense News, adding that the aircraft was undamaged and continued its mission.

“CENTCOM is in close coordination with the EU and Operation Aspides to investigate the circumstances that led to this event and to ensure safe deconfliction of airspace,” the official added, using shorthand for U.S. Central Command, the command overseeing American operations in the Middle East.

Germany’s air defense frigate Hessen received parliamentary approval to partake in the European Union’s Operation Aspides last week while already underway to the Red Sea. It is joining a collection of allied warships organized under the EU auspices or the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect marine traffic in the vital cargo route from drone and missile attacks by the Yemen-based Houthi militia.

The group’s fighters are targeting civilian ships claiming support for Hamas in its war against Israel.

A German military spokesman declined to comment on the incident, pointing instead to comments by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Feb. 27 in which Pistorious confirmed the downing of two hostile drones and two failed attempts to intercept an additional, unspecified aircraft.

Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.

德国科隆——美国军方官员正与欧盟合作，审查本周早些时候在红海执行多国海军保护任务期间，德国护卫舰“黑森”号两次向MQ-9无人机开火的事件。

据德国军事新闻网站 Augengeradeaus 最先报道，刚刚抵达战区的德国军舰向美国无人机发射了两枚标准-2拦截导弹，但均未命中。

报道称，在向附近盟友询问无人机的状态后，美军试图将其击落。该无人机飞行时没有打开应答器，无法让联军识别它是友军的。

“我们可以确认，2月27日，一架美国MQ-9无人机在红海遭到袭击，”一位美国国防官员告诉《防务新闻》，并补充说，该无人机没有受损，并继续执行任务。

“中央司令部正与欧盟和‘蜘蛛行动’密切协调，调查导致此次事件的情况，并确保空域安全冲突的解除，”这位官员补充道，他使用的是美国中央司令部的简称，该司令部负责监督美国在中东的行动。

德国防空护卫舰“黑森”号上周获得议会批准，参与欧盟的“阿斯派德斯行动”。当时该舰已在前往红海的途中。它将加入由欧盟或美国领导的“繁荣卫士行动”组织起来的盟军舰艇编队，共同保护这条重要货运航线的海上交通免受也门胡塞武装的无人机和导弹袭击。

该组织的武装分子以支持哈马斯对抗以色列的战争为由，袭击民用船只。

德国军方发言人拒绝就此事发表评论，而是指出德国国防部长鲍里斯·皮斯托里乌斯在2月27日发表的评论，皮斯托里乌斯在评论中证实击落了两架敌方无人机，并两次拦截另一架未指明的飞机的尝试均告失败。

塞巴斯蒂安·斯普伦格是《防务新闻》欧洲版副主编，负责报道该地区的防务市场状况，以及美欧在防务和全球安全领域的合作和多国投资。此前，他曾担任《防务新闻》执行主编。他现居德国科隆。