In the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a military drone suspected of originating from neighboring Uganda has crashed in Ituri Province. The Congolese army has announced the launch of an investigation, as Uganda has been identified by the United Nations as a supporter of the M23 rebel group.
On Monday, 12 August, a military drone bearing Ugandan colors crashed in the village of Katoni, located in the Ezekere area of Djugu territory. Images released by the army and residents clearly show the Ugandan flag on the drone.
Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, spokesperson for the army in Ituri, announced the opening of an investigation: “A military drone has crashed on Congolese soil. For now, it appears to have originated from Uganda. We have recovered the debris from this military aircraft and are currently analyzing it to gather more information. Was this a reconnaissance drone? And why did it violate Congolese airspace in Ituri? We believe a deeper investigation is necessary.”
Although, it is not yet known the drone type that crashed, however, the wreckage spots a Ugandan flag.
According to Military Africa’s Drone Procurement Dataset, Uganda operates a number of tactical and long-range drones.
This includes; 24 fixed-wing MALE Hermes 900 acquired from Israeli Elbit Systems in 2019, three VTOL Aerosonde 4.7 acquired from US company AAI Corps in 2021, and five Turkish VTOL Togan UAV acquired from STM.
Uganda has bought other UAVs, including several RQ-11Bs from the United States for use in Somalia. It also reportedly placed an order for the Aeronautics Orbiter II UAV in 2011.
One RQ-11B Raven was lost in a crash in August 2011, another one crashed in February of that same year.
Uganda also have a robust UAV design and development program in partnership with China’s Norinco. The collaboration established a comprehensive unmanned aerial vehicle ( UAV) workshop in Nakasongola.
Complete African Military Drone Procurement Data 1980-2024
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