A German warship operating as part of the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission shot down a drone during combat operations off the coast of Lebanon on Thursday, the German defence ministry confirmed.
The Ludwigshafen am Rhein corvette repelled an approaching drone at around 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT), a spokesperson from Germany’s armed forces, the Bundeswehr, was cited by the German DPA news agency as saying.
The drone was reportedly shot down around 18 miles northwest of the port of Naqoura, in southern Lebanon, where UNIFIL is headquartered, a DW report added.
“The corvette brought an unidentified unmanned aerial vehicle into the water in a controlled crash,” the spokesperson said, reporting no damage to the German vessel or its crew.
08 June 2024, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rostock: The corvette “Ludwigshafen am Rhein” leaves the naval base in Rostock Hohe Düne for its deployment. The warship departs from its home port of Warnemünde on Saturday for a five-month UN mission in the Mediterranean. She will join the UNIFIL fleet off the Lebanese coast and is expected to return in mid-December. (Frank Hormann/picture alliance via Getty)
The Ludwigshafen am Rhein is continuing its duties, he added.
A spokesperson for the Bundeswehr military’s joint operations command said the object was targeted by defence systems.
“The origin of the flying object is unknown,” the spokesperson added in an emailed statement seen by the Reuters news agency.
The Bundeswehr spokesperson said German forces were in an “increased risk situation” in Lebanon and “appropriate protective measures” are now being implemented.
The incident comes amid spiraling tensions in Lebanon, where Israel is carrying out a ground and air offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
UNIFIL says its headquarters and positions have repeatedly come under fire, while Israel has urged the UN to move its peacekeepers out of combat areas.