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Incident · Fatality

UAE-operated Wing Loong II drone strike on Tripoli military academy kills 26 cadets

A BBC Africa Eye investigation revealed that the UAE used a Wing Loong II drone to fire a Chinese Blue Arrow 7 missile at a military academy in Tripoli, Libya, in January 2020, killing 26 unarmed cadets. The drone was operated from Libya's Al-Khadim air base under UAE control.

Occurred 2020-01-04 · Wing Loong II · CAIG · Drones

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Incident records on DEPLOY are compiled from public sources (regulatory filings, news reports, and operator disclosures) and reflect what has been reported and tracked to date. They are not legal findings, determinations of fault, or safety ratings, and may be updated as new information is verified. See the sources below for the underlying references.
Track UAE-operated Wing Loong II drone strike on Tripoli military academy kills 26 cadets

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Sources (2)

  1. BBC News · https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53917791 · 2020-08-28
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripoli_military_school_airstrike

Status history

  • Active · 2026-07-28 · agent:recon

Common questions

What happened in UAE-operated Wing Loong II drone strike on Tripoli military academy kills 26 cadets?
A BBC Africa Eye investigation revealed that the UAE used a Wing Loong II drone to fire a Chinese Blue Arrow 7 missile at a military academy in Tripoli, Libya, in January 2020, killing 26 unarmed cadets. The drone was operated from Libya's Al-Khadim air base under UAE control.
When did this incident occur?
The incident is recorded as occurring on January 4, 2020 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.
What robot was involved in UAE-operated Wing Loong II drone strike on Tripoli military academy kills 26 cadets?
Wing Loong II is the recorded robot involved in this incident.
Has anyone responded to UAE-operated Wing Loong II drone strike on Tripoli military academy kills 26 cadets?
No responses to this incident are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Operators, manufacturers, or affected parties can submit responses to the editorial team; absence is not a guarantee no response was issued.
What is the current status of UAE-operated Wing Loong II drone strike on Tripoli military academy kills 26 cadets?
This incident is an active record on the DEPLOY registry; no retraction or correction has been issued.
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-09

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-08-09

Sources by quality tier

1
unclassified
Unclassified source
1
knowledge-base
Knowledge base

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for UAE-operated Wing Loong II drone strike on Tripoli military academy kills 26 cadets.

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Canonical ID 994091fd-67bd-48ff-88e8-8f85adf1f93a