U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper Makes Emergency Landing in Poland

A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone, which lost contact with its base, executed an emergency landing in northwestern Poland.

This incident was reported by the General Command of Poland's Armed Forces.

The statement released by the Polish Armed Forces noted, “After 23:00 (02:00 Moscow time), an emergency landing of an unmanned aerial vehicle of the U.S. Armed Forces occurred in the vicinity of Mirosławiec, while flying in Polish airspace.”

The landing adhered to established procedures and took place in a cordoned-off uninhabited area. Relevant services are guarding the landing site, and the military gendarmerie is conducting an investigation into the matter.

Earlier, the Polish military had indicated that an unarmed drone, engaged in a training flight from the Miroslawiec airfield, lost contact with its base. Consequently, the area surrounding the airfield was cordoned off, and traffic on adjacent roads was halted.

The MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft boasts dimensions of 11 meters in length, a wingspan of 20.1 meters, a payload capacity of 2.2 tons, a maximum speed of over 450 kmph, and a flight range of more than 1,800 km. It is employed for intelligence gathering, rescue operations, and precision strikes against both ground and air targets. The MQ-9 Reaper is equipped with Hellfire missiles, GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs, and GBU-38 satellite-guided bombs, and can carry air-to-air missiles.

Since May 2018, MQ-9 Reapers have been conducting regular flights from the Polish Air Force's 12th Air Base at Miroslawiec, 250 km from Russia's Kaliningrad region.