A German Navy frigate sent to the Red Sea to protect merchant ships was revealed to have mistakenly fired at a US military "Reaper" drone, almost shooting down the drone. German Defense Minister Pistorius said during a visit to the German town of Oberweichtach that the Hesse frigate opened fire after "unsuccessfully" identifying an unknown drone.
The drone was later confirmed to be a "reconnaissance drone" The drone's operations in the area may have been "part of a U.S. counterterrorism mission" and had nothing to do with Red Sea mission.