A U.S. Air Force drone, part of a squadron permanently assigned to South Korea, crashed off the country’s west coast early Monday morning, according to military and media reports, amid rising military tensions in the region.
According to a statement from the Air Force’s 8th Fighter Wing, an MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft from Gunsan Air Base was “involved in the incident while performing a routine mission” near Maldori Island.
Many local media outlets reported that the plane had crashed.
The drone was assigned to the 431st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron in Kunshan, which was activated in September as the U.S. government seeks to strengthen its forward presence in the Western Pacific.
Mainland China is only about 400 miles from Gunsan, and Bohai, where the Chinese Navy frequently exercises, is about 900 miles from Gunsan Air Base.
The Reaper is an unmanned, single-engine turboprop aircraft that can fly a variety of combat and other missions, according to an Air Force fact sheet.
With a range of more than 1,600 miles (2,575 kilometers) and the ability to remain airborne indefinitely with aerial refueling, the Reaper is expected to provide a significant reinforcement to U.S. forces in the region.
The Reaper’s range extends beyond North Korea, covering the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between South and North Korea, about 240 miles north of Gunsan, as well as the East China Sea and Taiwan, about 1,300 miles away.
“Operation MQ-9 will support U.S. and South Korean priorities in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance across the Indo-Pacific theater,” an Air Force statement in September said.
The Air Force said there were no injuries or property damage in Monday’s incident, which occurred around 4:35 a.m. local time.
U.S. drone operations have a checkered history of safety and reliability.
A 2022 report from the Congressional Research Service found that MQ-9 drones have 15% more “Class A accidents,” or accidents resulting in damages of $2.5 million or more, than manned military aircraft.
According to the report, Reaper’s average unit cost was $28 million in 2022 dollars.
The cause of Monday’s incident remains under investigation, the Air Force said.
