By Amelia Smith in Aviation, Drone, News August 25,A US Air Force MQ-9A Extended Range Reaper UAV crashed near Al-Maqzha, just outside Benghazi, Libya on Monday Africa Command said the drone was surveilling the area in advance of planned diplomatic meetings.A USAF statement to AeroTime said:“US Africa Command has confirmed that a US Air Force Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) crashed in the vicinity of Benghazi, Libya.The aircraft was operating in support of US Ambassador and Special Envoy to Libya Richard Norland's diplomatic engagements scheduled to occur in eastern Libya, and there was prior coordination with the appropriate Libyan authorities.”Video of the plane that crashed in front of the air defenses in the sky between us in the area of Maqzaha pic.twitter.com/PWby6lKnmcThe LNA claimed that the downed drone was armed with two missiles, however no weapon debris was photographed at the crash site.Analysis of the wreckage on social media confirms that this is an MQ-9A.Social media posts linked to the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organization, claim the drone was shot down by a Pantsir S1 air defense system.MQ-9 Reaper UAV crashes in Benghazi, Libya 🇱🇾 MQ-9 Reaper UAV crashes in Benghazi, LibyaFurther analysis of the wreckage of the drone confirms that it is an Extended Range Reaper, which Overt Defense has covered before.The Extended Range version of the MQ-9A Reaper has a number of unique features, the most noticeable of which is the four propeller blades.Only the United States is known to operate the Extended Range Reaper.Earlier today, an MQ-9 was shot down near Al-Maqzha just outside Benghazi, Libya.Analysis of a few different angles of the crash site shows what appears to be four propeller blades, indicating that it could be a USAF MQ-9 ER.1/2 https://t.co/bHdAstTeho pic.twitter.com/sNew6T9NvNFThe United States operates Extended Range Reapers out of Sigonella Air Force Base in Italy.The 324th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron flies Reapers out of Sigonella.The USAF Reaper drones from Sigonella have been used over Libya for years.In 2019, a USAF Reaper was shot down by Russian-made air defense systems operated by the LNA.Tags: #Libya, Crashed, Extended Range Reaper, MQ-9ACopyright © 2022 Overt Defense.All Rights Reserved.