C-130 Collides with Drone in Afghanistan

A C-130 cargo plane assigned to the 914th Airlift Wing out of Niagara Falls ARS, N.Y., has collided with a remotely piloted aircraft in Afghanistan, reported the Wall Street Journal. Air Force Capt. Justin Brockhoff told the newspaper the plane made an emergency landing Aug. 15 at a forward operation base in eastern Afghanistan, but the aircrew was “unharmed.” The RQ-7 Shadow—a shorter-range tactical aircraft typically operated by the Army or Marine Corps—was on a surveillance mission at the time. It was not armed. “The C-130 received light damage during the incident,” Brockhoff told the paper. He added that there are “no reports at this time to indicate any injuries or damages were caused when [the Shadow] impacted the ground.” (WSJ report; requires subscription)