Tag: drone

Two wounded after drone hits Russian city near Ukraine: governor

MOSCOW, June 1, 2023 (AFP) – Two people were wounded on Thursday when a drone hit Russia’s southwestern city of Belgorod near Ukraine, regional officials said. “An unknown device exploded in Belgorod,” regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. “According to preliminary data, a UAV fell onto a road,” he said, referring to an unmanned aerial vehicle. The governor said two men were injured and one of them was hospitalised with a suspected concussion. Belgorod […]

Drones hit Moscow high-rises as Kyiv struck for third day

MOSCOW, May 30, 2023 (AFP) – A swarm of drones hit Moscow on Tuesday in an unprecedented attack, while Russian drones struck Kyiv for a third straight day as Ukraine gears up for a major offensive against Russian forces. The Russian defence ministry blamed Kyiv for the attacks that saw three drones crash into residential buildings in Moscow. Officials said no one was seriously injured and there was only “minor” damage to buildings. The Russian […]

Chinese ‘scorpion’ combat drone circles Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — A long-range Chinese combat drone capable of carrying a large weapons payload has circled Taiwan, the island’s defense ministry said Friday. Democratic Taiwan lives under constant threat of an attack by Beijing, which views the island as part of its territory. Taiwan’s defense ministry said it detected 38 Chinese aircraft, including a TB-001 drone nicknamed the “twin-tailed scorpion”, around the island between 6:00 am (1000 GMT) Thursday and 6:00 am Friday. […]

‘Ukrainian’ drone found outside Moscow

A “Ukrainian” drone has been found outside Moscow, an official said on Monday, adding this had led local authorities to call off a Victory Day parade for security reasons. Moscow has accused Ukraine of being behind a number of drone attacks on military infrastructure deep inside Russian territory. On Monday, Igor Sukhin, head of the Bogorodsky city district outside the capital Moscow, said that a local resident had found a “Ukrainian” drone in a forest. […]

Russia calls on US to halt ‘hostile’ flights after collision

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s ambassador to the United States on Wednesday called on Washington to stop “hostile” flights near his country’s border, after an American drone was intercepted by Russian fighters over the Black Sea. “We assume that the United States will refrain from further speculation in the media and stop flights near Russian borders,” ambassador Anatoly Antonov wrote on Telegram. “We consider any action with the use of US weaponry as openly hostile.” […]

Russian jet causes American drone to crash over Black Sea: US

by Daphne Benoit with W.G. Dunlop in Washington Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A Russian fighter jet on Tuesday dumped fuel on an American drone over the Black Sea and then collided with it, causing the drone to crash, the US military said, slamming the maneuver as “reckless”. US European Command said two Russian Su-27 fighters intercepted the unmanned MQ-9 Reaper over international waters and one clipped its propeller. “Several times before the collision, […]

Seoul says military fired at N. Korean drones after incursion

South Korea accused the North of flying several drones across their shared border on Monday, prompting Seoul’s military to deploy warplanes to shoot them down — with local media reporting one of the planes later crashed. The incursion was the first time in years that North Korean drones have invaded the South’s airspace and came hot on the heels of a recent flurry of sanctions-busting weapons tests by Pyongyang. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff […]

Taiwan shoots down ‘civilian’ drone over tiny islet off China

  TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwanese soldiers on a tiny islet just off China’s mainland shot down an “unidentified civilian drone” on Thursday after it entered a restricted zone, Taipei’s military said. It is the first time Taiwanese forces have downed a drone and comes at a time when tensions between Beijing and Taipei are at their highest in decades. Taiwan’s defence ministry said a small civilian drone entered a “restricted zone” above Shiyu Islet, […]

‘Punishment from above’: Hobby pilots build Ukraine’s drone fleet

by Joe Stenson © Agence France-Presse LVIV, Ukraine (AFP) – At a secret location in the Ukraine city of Lviv, the windows taped up to ward off unwanted attention, underground hobbyists improvise deadly drones bound for the front line of the war against Russia. On a cluttered table the x-shaped frame of one drone stands among bundles of plastic propellers and sachets of minuscule screws. Soon it will take flight with its payload: a wine […]

UAE reports new drone attack as US to send warship, jets

by Mohamad Ali Harissi Agence France Presse DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday said it prevented another drone attack over its territory, after Washington said it will send a warship and fighter jets to help defend its Gulf ally as conflict with Yemeni rebels intensifies. The UAE, a major financial hub and part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels for seven years, announced the “interception and […]

Two drones shot down targeting Iraq base: anti-IS coalition

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) – Two armed drones targeting an air base in western Iraq were shot down on Tuesday, an official of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group said. “Two fixed-wing drones rigged with explosives were engaged and destroyed by defensive capabilities at the Iraqi Al-Asad Air Base early this morning,” the official said. “The attempted attack was unsuccessful. All forces are accounted for.” It is the second such attack in 24 hours […]

Two Qaeda suspects among three killed in Yemen drone strike

  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — A suspected US drone strike on Sunday killed three people in central Yemen, including two alleged Al-Qaeda jihadists, local government officials said. “A drone that is believed to be American targeted a car carrying a man, who is likely an Al-Qaeda member, and his wife, resulting in the injury of both,” a government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP. “Three people, a civilian and two […]