A German naval vessel mistakenly locked onto an American military drone operating in the Red Sea area, preventing the loss of the drone due to a technical glitch on Thursday.

The German frigate Hessen, part of the Sachsen-class, inadvertently aimed at the MQ-9 drone on Tuesday while it was conducting a mission near the Red Sea, according to a US official.The official noted that the drone was unharmed and the matter is currently under review.

The German military acknowledged the occurrence through an online announcement, stating that the Hessen had targeted a drone missing a “friend or foe” identifier earlier that week. After coordinating with allied forces in the vicinity, the frigate launched several missiles at the drone.

The missiles failed to hit the target due to a malfunction in the frigate’s radar system. The German authorities reported that the fault was swiftly detected and rectified. Additionally, Germany’s Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, verified in a briefing that an incident involving the firing of shots had occurred.