The MQ-9 drone crashed into the Yellow Sea: The US military admits it shot it down, claiming it was likely interfered by a certain country!

The latest disclosed information shows that the US military not only actively shot down this unmanned combat platform valued at about $32 million but also hinted for the first time that its loss of control may be related to external electronic interference.

According to the preliminary accident report submitted by the US Pacific Air Forces to Congress, this MQ-9 belongs to the 319th Reconnaissance Squadron stationed at Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, which was recently temporarily deployed to the Gunsan Air Base in South Korea, with the mission of continuously monitoring the waters surrounding the peninsula.

On the day of the incident, the aircraft took off as planned to conduct a routine reconnaissance flight on a joint naval exercise of a certain country in the Yellow Sea at an altitude of about 25,000 feet, with the endurance time nearing the end of the mission.

However, about 6 hours into the flight, the ground control station suddenly lost data link communication with the drone. US records show that from 10:17 AM local time, remote control commands could not be uploaded, video feedback was interrupted, and the aircraft entered "autonomous return" mode. The operators subsequently attempted to re-establish the connection through satellite link and line-of-sight microwave link, initiating a total of 13 reconnection requests, all of which failed.

More critically, during the period of losing contact, the MQ-9 did not return to Gunsan Base as per the preset program but began to deviate from its flight path, shifting southwest and eventually entering the airspace of South Korean territorial waters. To prevent it from falling into the hands of another country or posing a risk to civil aviation safety, the US military, in coordination with the South Korean air defense command system, shot it down.