The Air Force believes an electrical issue, not enemy fire, caused its MQ-9 Reaper to crash in northern Syria on Tuesday, a spokesman told Air Force Magazine by email. Following the crash, ISIS-affiliated fighters posted video of the wreckage and claimed they shot down the remotely piloted aircraft, IHS Jane’s 360 reported. However, the service said the RPA was not brought down by enemy fire when announcing the mishap. The investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, the spokesman said, but “there are no indications that Da?esh [another term for ISIS] had anything to do with this.”
The United States Air Force is flying less than historic norms and funding for acquisition and readiness is on a path to further hollow out this too small and old force to that is incapable of sustaining an enduring combat air campaign.
