On June 25, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the U.S.-led coalition crashed in the al-Qathif Valley in the western Iraqi province of al-Anbar.
Iraqi sources claimed that the UAV was an MQ-9 Reaper. Nevertheless, photos of the wreckage revealed that it was a Boeing Insitu ScanEagle 2.
سقوط طائرة مسيرة من طراز (MQ9 reapter ) تابعة لقوات الإحتلال الأميركي يوم أمس في محافظة #الأنبار قرب #وادي_القذف ☺☺ pic.twitter.com/5eCueuQD8i
— حيدر محمد (@haider__alaghar) June 25, 2020
The drone, which entered service with the U.S. military in 2014, has a speed of up to 148 km/h, a maximum operating altitude of 5,950 m and an endurance of more than 16 hours.
ScanEagle 2 has a day and night capable sensor, an increased payload, a fully digital video system, a better navigation system, an Ethernet-based architecture, a reduced electronic magnetic interference and a new ground control station.
A drone of the same type crashed in al-Anbar last January as result of what was called back then a “a technical failure.”
The U.S.-led coalition is apparently using ScanEagle 2 UAVs to monitor al-Anbar’s vast desert, which is known to be the main stronghold of ISIS in Iraq.
