The US military said on Thursday it had received “an update” on the crash of a military plane that crashed in a remote area of the Maldivian island nation, in a separate incident that sent a shockwaves through the region.
The aircraft, which is the largest in the Air Force Reserve, disappeared off radar on Thursday morning and is now “under investigation,” the Air National Guard said in a statement.
“The Air Force is deeply saddened to learn of the loss of the UH-60 Black Hawk, a multirole combat aircraft that was flying from the air base in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to the United States for training,” the statement said.
The Black Hawk is one of the Air Guard’s newest and most advanced combat aircraft, with a new avionics suite that can fly at up to 30,000 feet.
It has a range of more than 12,000 miles and is designed to fly in a wide range of weather conditions and in harsh conditions.
It is designed for training, and the US military has said the plane is already being used in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Air Guard is currently conducting a joint training mission with the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.