Red-faced US air force after spy plane intrusion

LONDON (AFP) Apr 11, 2004
The US air force was left red-faced last year when a drone flew uninvited into British skies and had to be granted so-called "purple airspace" usually reserved for Britain's royal family, the London-based Observer newspaper said Sunday.

"We had no idea what this thing was, had to hurriedly identify it and then give it 'purple airspace," said a civil servant quoted by the Sunday newspaper.

"It was major embarrassment that has been hushed up," the source added.

Air-traffic controllers were forced to grant the privilege to the Global Hawk -- an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) -- after the drone reportedly went astray during recent trials of the spy plane in Germany.

Germany is one of a number of Western nations keen to buy the plane, first used to spy on al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, and reported to have eavesdropped on shipping and radar stations during missions from the German Navy's Nordholz base near Hamburg.

The US air force drone flew six sorties over the North Sea during the test flights in Ocotober and November last year, according to the newspaper.

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