The Air Force confirmed that a drone went missing from testing at Eglin Air Force Base and was recovered by a fishing charter off the Florida Panhandle on Saturday. The drone appeared to be an FLM 136, a clone of the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 attack drone that has played a key role in current combat operations.
Hot Spots Charters, a fishing charter company out of Pensacola, discovered the drone floating offshore near Eglin Air Force Base, home of the Air Force's 96th Test Wing. Charter captain Daniel Arsenault wrote on Facebook that the crew made the surprising catch during a six-hour trip Saturday.
An Eglin Air Force Base spokesperson told defense news site The War Zone that the base was conducting a test when the test article went down. The spokesperson would not specify the type of drone. Photos shared by Hot Spots Charters showed the drone missing its nose section and rear propeller, taking up the entire bow section of the fishing boat.
The drone appeared to be part of the Air Force's Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System, or LUCAS, program announced late last year. The LUCAS drones are clones of the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 model. Manufactured by Arizona-based Spektreworks, the drones are 9.8 feet long, have a wingspan of 8.2 feet, and weigh 70 pounds.
US Central Command announced in early March that LUCAS drones were being used in the war with Iran. Arsenault told CNN he came across the drone by chance while riding along offshore and saw it floating. The charter company later posted on Facebook that the drone had been retrieved, writing that black SUVs came and got their drone.