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German army, the Bundeswehr, has officially terminated the deployment of the Heron 1 reconnaissance drone in the West African country of Mali.
With the redeployment of all soldiers stationed for the drone operation, the mission has come to an end, Germany’s Air Force commander, Ingo Gerhartz, said in an order made available to dpa on Wednesday.
The withdrawal also marks the end of the German forces’ use of the Heron 1.
In Afghanistan, the unmanned craft made 4,409 operational flights, notching up more than 50,000 flight hours from 2010 to 2021.
In Mali, the Heron took off on 2,202 operational flights and accrued more than 21,000 flight hours by December 2022.
Gerhartz thanked the soldiers and urged them to look back on the deployment with pride.
Earlier this year, the military junta that came to power in a military coup in Mali stopped giving permission to fly the Heron reconnaissance drone operated by the German military on behalf of the UN’s Mali mission, known as MINUSMA.
Mali’s military leaders have opted instead to cooperate with Russian military forces and the Wagner mercenary group.
The UN mission is now pulling out. The Bundeswehr is expected to have left the country by the end of this year.
