A German navy ship mistakenly targeted a U.S. Reaper drone in the Red Sea earlier this week while operating as part of the European Union’s Aspides mission to protect shipping in the vital waterway, a Defense Department official said Thursday.
The MQ-9 drone wasn’t damaged in the Tuesday incident and continued its mission, the official told Stars and Stripes on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to provide their name.
The targeting of a drone by an ally demonstrates the challenges the U.S. and its partners face in attempting to stem attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militants, analysts say.
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