A US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper military combat drone landed in the early hours of this morning at Lajes Air Base in the Azores, marking the second consecutive night that the facility has received what is known as one of the largest and most lethal drones in the U.S. armory
The drone landed at Lajes Air Base, on Terceira Island, at 02:08 local time (03:08 in Lisbon), as confirmed by Lusa news agency on site.
After refueling, the unmanned aircraft took off at 05:44.
It was the second drone of this type to land at Lajes this week, after what is believed to be the first MQ-9 Reaper to land on Portuguese soil passed through the infrastructure in the early hours of Thursday.
Developed by General Atomics, the MQ-9 Reapers, measuring approximately 11 meters in length and 20 meters in wingspan, are considered the most powerful and versatile currently used in combat, capable of carrying up to eight precision missiles, with a payload capacity of 1,700 kgs.
There has been a degree of controversy over the Reapers’ passage, primarily for the fact that some opposition parties in parliament are uncomfortable over their ultimate purpose.
The movement of US military aircraft at Lajes Air Base has been very much in the news since February 18 – when the United States’ build up towards its attack on Iran began. At the time, the official narrative was that the base would not be used by attack aircraft flying directly into the war zone.
Since the war began, KC-46 Pegasus refueling planes – capable of refueling military aircraft in mid-air – have been taking off almost daily from Lajes, while C-130, C-17 Globemaster III and C-5M Super Galaxy cargo planes, F-16 Viper and Boeing EA-18G Growler fighter jets, Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye tactical command and control aircraft, and Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft have also been flagged.
Portuguese Foreign Minister, Paulo Rangel, continues to insist that the use of the base by the Americans complies with the criteria of international law – and that Portugal is not involved in the military operation against Iran. But it is looking more and more like our government is dancing on the head of a pin
The conditions ‘imposed by Portugal’ for the use of the base by the United States, are that activity can only be “in response to an attack suffered, necessary and proportionate and (that it) does not target civilian targets”.
“If these guarantees are given to us and can be observed, we are at ease”, Rangel told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday – adding “that is what has happened so far.”
“Once certain rules are followed, certain operations are permitted; if they are not followed, they are not permitted. We are not discussing national security in the public square, nor are we discussing ‘voyeurism’ from bases,” he added.
But PS Socialists and Bloco de Esquerda (left bloc) are not so sure.
The PS are still questioning the authorisation for the passage of these drones, stressing: “This is the first time that this type of weapons system has been deployed to national territory, which raises a number of questions within a particularly sensitive international context, marked by an ongoing war in the Middle East involving the US, Israel and Iran.”
Bloco de Esquerda, referring to the drones as “the deadliest unmanned aerial vehicle in the US arsenal, designed explicitly for attack missions and targeted killings”, has argued that Portugal’s tacit authorisation for their passage through national territory highlights “double standards that place (this country) in the dangerous position of acting as a logistical support base for a potentially illegal war”.
It has not really helped that other countries – namely Spain, Italy and France -are now all refusing the United States access to their airbases (in Spain’s case, the entirety of Spanish airspace) because of misgivings over the handling of this conflict.
Source: LUSA
