Nigerian Air Force CH-4B Rainbow Crash

A Nigerian Air Force CH-4B armed reconnaissance drone, serial NAF-114, crashed near Kontagora in Niger State on 2 January 2026 during a surveillance sortie for Operation FASAN YAMMA. According to the service's spokesman, the aircraft suffered a propulsion anomaly in flight, followed by a loss of the datalink; the crew initiated the standard return-to-base procedure, but the drone came down in a forested area short of recovery. The Nigerian Air Force reported no loss of life and said the site had been secured and a technical evaluation opened. The CH-4B is one of the Chinese-built armed drones the service uses against armed groups in north-western and north-central Nigeria.