The German frigate “Hessen,” operating in the Red Sea as part of the European Union mission, narrowly avoided shooting down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone that flew past it due to an error. This incident was disclosed by Spiegel.

The event occurred on Monday, February 26th.

The crew of the “Hessen” spotted the drone on radar and contacted their American counterparts from the Prosperity Guardian mission, also active in the Red Sea.

However, the Americans were unaware of the drone’s flight, which presumably was associated with another US military mission.

Following consultations, the commander of the “Hessen” ordered to open fire on the unidentified drone flying towards the German frigate.

However, after the launch of two anti-aircraft missiles, a technical malfunction occurred, causing both missiles to fall into the sea.

The German Ministry of Defence indirectly confirmed the incident on February 28th but did not provide any details.

Military officials, as communicated to Spiegel, consider the incident as evidence of the need to improve coordination between various missions in the Red Sea region. Some believe that shooting down the Reaper drone “would have been a catastrophe.”

Earlier reports indicated that the German Navy frigate “Hessen” repelled the first attack from Yemeni Houthi militants in the Red Sea, shooting down two of their drones.

The vessel, participating in the EU military mission named Aspides, successfully destroyed two enemy aerial targets on Tuesday evening.

Bundeswehr announced on Twitter (X) that these were drones, which the crew successfully shot down. According to the German armed forces, there were no casualties or damages on the frigate.

This marked the first combat engagement of the German Navy within the operation, which began on Friday. It is considered the most dangerous military naval mission in the history of the Bundeswehr.

Earlier, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius visited the country’s Navy frigate “Hessen” before it set sail to the Red Sea to defend against attacks by Yemeni Houthi militants.

In December, the United States initiated a special military mission in the region involving 10 allies to protect trade vessels.

Since then, numerous missiles and drones launched by the Houthis have been intercepted, and strikes have been repeatedly carried out on their military targets and weaponry in Yemen.

As of February 19th, the EU military naval mission named Aspides officially began its operation to safeguard civilian shipping in the Red Sea.

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