An MQ-9 remotely piloted aircraft assigned to Holloman AFB, N.M., crashed around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, “seven miles south of Highway 70,” according to a base press release. A spokesperson told the Alamogordo Daily News that the Reaper was on its way back to base after a routine training mission. An Air Force spokesman declined to say if any property was damaged or if anyone was injured when the RPA crashed, saying only that the incident was “still under investigation.”
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.