US relocates drones airfield after Djibouti crashes

US relocates drones airfield after Djibouti crashes
Will spend $13M at new base, but continue to spend $880M at old base.

 After complaints that the Predators and Reapers were crashing too often and could interfere with civil air traffic or block runways, the US military will move its drone fleet from Camp Lemonnier to Chabelley airfield, about 10 kilometers southwest of the capital, according to a document from Congress authorizing defense spending for 2014.
Lawmakers are "aware that the government of Djibouti mandated that operations of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) cease from Camp Lemonnier, while allowing such operations to relocate to Chabelley Airfield, Djibouti," it said. The decision to shift flights to Chabelley raised questions about Pentagon plans to spend $880 million to improve the infrastructure at Camp Lemonnier. The US government plans to invest $13 million for infrastructure at Chabelley airfield to support the drone flights, according to the document. But lawmakers wrote that they remained concerned about how operations at the new location would be sustained over the long-term and at what cost.

Here's a better article from the Washington Post cited by Pat Filbert that talks about the airspace aspect:
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/drone-safety-concerns-force-us-to-move-large-fleet-from-camp-lemonnier-in-djibouti/2013/09/24/955518c4-213c-11e3-a03d-abbedc3a047c_story.html
Washington Post National Security Djibouti Move