The United States appears to have lost an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft over southern Iraq, a Pentagon official said yesterday after Baghdad said it had shot down a US aircraft.
"It appears that an unmanned aircraft, a 'Predator,' has not returned from a mission over southern Iraq," the official said.
A Pentagon spokesman said that all manned aircraft were safe and accounted for.
The Predator is a $25 million system operated by 55 people, not just an aircraft. In full operational mode, it consists of four, 27-foot sensor-packed air vehicles, a ground control station and a satellite link.
With a wingspan of 48.7 feet the air vehicle weighs 950 pounds empty and 2,250 lbs when fully equipped for reconnaissance surveillance and target acquisition.
An Iraqi military spokesman said: "The air defences in the Basra area shot down the plane when it was flying a spy mission inside Iraqi airspace."