Part Of "Operation Swarmer"

The US Central Command Air Forces Forward reports an unmanned aerial vehicle crashed Tuesday morning in Iraq. The aircraft, an Air Force MQ-1 Predator UAV, was participating in combined operations in Salah ah Din province as part of Operation Swarmer.

No one was injured in the accident -- as the pilot flying the Predator was at Nevada's Creech Air Force Base when the aircraft went down. The Predator was deployed with the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Balad Air Base, Iraq, when the aircraft went down.

Army and Air Force personnel recovered the wreckage, and returned it to Balad Air Base. It is not yet known what brought down the $5 million unmanned aircraft.

The MQ-1 Predator is a medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV system. Its primary mission is interdiction and armed reconnaissance.

In 2005, Predator aircraft flew more than 40,000 combat hours totaling nearly 2,500 sorties worldwide. Each combat sortie lasts an average of 20 hours and crews swap every four hours.

An interim safety investigation board president has been appointed and will conduct an investigation. No further information will be available until the report is complete.

FMI: www.af.mil