An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft assigned to the 57th Wing at Nellis AFB, Nev., crashed on Wednesday on the Nevada Test and Training Range during a combat training mission, announced Nellis officials. The mishap occurred at approximately 7:14 p.m. Nevada time in a remote location west of Hiko, according to Nellis’ Dec. 6 release. No one was injured in the incident. The officials said they would release additional details as they became available. A board of officers will investigate the accident to determine the cause. The training mission was part of the Air Force Weapons School’s mission employment phase, according to the release. That’s the school’s capstone graduation exercise.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.