Published time: January 06, 2014 17:11
A US Navy battleship (click here) suffered $30 million in damages after a drone accidentally crashed into it during a military exercise and injured two sailors.
The incident occurred last November near Point Mugu, California, but the website USNI just recently reported the Navy will need about six months to fully repair the USS Chancellorsville.
According to the original Navy Times report on the accident, a malfunctioning Northrop Grumman BQM-74 crashed into the port side of the Chancellorsville during a training exercise that involved a routine radar test. The ship “was heavily damaged by the impact of a test target,” while the 13-foot drone itself “crippled a key computer center integral to the ship's cutting-edge combat systems.”
The Chancellorsville had about 300 crewmen onboard at the time of the collision. Two were treated for minor burns, though the Navy did not say how the individuals were injured. Sailors had only a four-second warning once drone operators realized they lost control over the BQM-74.
“There was just a breakdown in communications … and the ship had no time to react,” an unnamed crewman told the Navy Times....
Oh, what joy, the USA Navy doesn't have control over their Missile Drones right there off the coast of the USA.
Oh, what joy, the USA Navy doesn't have control over their Missile Drones right there off the coast of the USA.
