As Syria Strikes Increase, U.S. Predator Drones Leave Africa

Joseph Trevithick

Security, Africa

The move comes amidst a resource crunch and changing targets.

After five years of steady operations, the United States no longer has any MQ-1 Predators based in Djibouti. The Air Force quietly pulled the drones as the service find itself in the middle of a resource crunch and as it faces new threats around the world.

In October, the flying branch closed down the 60th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron. Since at least 2010, America’s unmanned attackers have struck terrorists in Yemen and Somalia from bases in the small East African nation on more than 100 occasions.

The Air Force initially flew the missions from Camp Lemonnier, America’s only formal base on the continent. Two years ago, the Pentagon announced it was moving all its drones in the country to the remote and secretive Chabelley Airfield outside Djibouti’s capital city.

Between November 2014 and October, “remotely piloted aircraft flown out of Chabelley accumulated over 24,000 hours of armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and were responsible for the neutralization of 69 enemy fighters, including five high valued individuals,” Air Force Maj. Kori, head of operations analysis at the 380th Expeditionary Operations Group in the United Arab Emirates, told military reporters.

Since Islamic State regularly threatens to kill American service members and their families, the Pentagon often removes identifying information such as last names from reports about personnel and units in the Middle East.

In this case, the news of the Predators’ departure might relate to the rise of Islamic State—and broad shifts in the region—beyond just the missing surnames.

In 2013, the Air Force began finalizing plans to retire the iconic drones. After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Predators had quickly become a prominent face of Washington’s far-reaching and often controversial fight against terrorism.