Forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA) have reportedly shot down what appears to be either a Predator or Reaper drone.
The downing occurred today, August 22 near Bengazi. The drone was brought down with a man-portable surface-to-air missile system (MANPAD).
An official post by LNA’s Major General Khaled via his affiliated Facebook account, when translated explains that;
“The air defense media of the General Command targeted an unidentified filming drone that entered the skies of Benghazi near Al-Rajma and the Benina base and brought it down.”
Subsequent footage released shows what appears to be the drone burning and slowly falling to the ground after being hit by a surface-to-air missile.
Which Libyan unit shot the MQ-9 reaper down? pic.twitter.com/w1XBQwCkvn
— Ghost of Zeepo (@mdfzeh) August 22, 2022
Although, the downed drone was burnt beyond recognition on impact, therefore, it may likely be a Chinese Wing Loong, CH-5, or Ch-4 UAV since they all appear similar. However, the landing gear mechanism and engine housing appear very similar to those of the MQ-9 Reaper UAV.
Current MQ-9 Reaper operators are France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, United States.
Any of these NATO countries may have been carrying out surveillance of LNA or Russia’s Wagner groups’ activities in the area without prior authorization from the Libyan government.