A medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) MQ-9 Reaper drone of the French Air Force crashed near Niamey, Niger, on November 17, 2018. The UAV was on its way back from a mission in Mali.
According to the French Army Staff, the drone crashed in a desert area near the Niamey Air Base runway, without harming anyone. An investigation was opened to identify the reasons of the crash. Its operator reported lost contact with the drone.
In January 2014, six MQ-9 Reaper Block 1 UAVs were acquired at €75 million (approximately $86 million) per unit by the French military.
Four (including the one that crashed) are engaged in Mali and have been used for more than 23.000 hours by the French Air Force, carrying surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The other two are assigned to Cognac-Châteaubernard Air Base, France. This is the first accident affecting a French Reaper.
Source: Aerotime