Germany German Unifil corvette fends off drone

The German corvette "Ludwigshafen am Rhein", deployed off the coast of Lebanon as part of the UN force Unifil, has fended off an approaching drone amid growing tensions in the region.

The unmanned missile was brought down in a controlled manner by a defense system off the coast of Lebanon at around 7:00 a.m., a spokesman for the German Armed Forces Operations Command told the German Press Agency in Berlin. According to dpa information, it was the first incident of this kind involving the corvette in recent times.

Unifil's task is to monitor compliance with the ceasefire following the Lebanon war in 2006. The UN force supports the Lebanese government in securing the sea borders and preventing the smuggling of weapons by sea.

Drone was already very close to the ship

According to dpa information, the unmanned aerial vehicle was engaged northwest of Nakura and well away from the coast, close to the ship. The drone was recovered - at least parts of it - and is to be examined.

The blue helmet soldiers had been shot at several times on land in recent days. They have partly named Israeli troops as the perpetrators and partly spoken of an unclear situation in the fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah.

The German Bundeswehr is currently providing the corvette with around 60 crew members for the Unifil mission's maritime force, as well as 40 soldiers at the UN headquarters camp in Nakura.

The German Unifil mission primarily involves commanding the multinational maritime units off the coast of Lebanon. They are led from Nakura. In addition to the main mission of maritime surveillance, the units support the UN mission by transporting personnel and material by sea.