According to CNN's report on September 21, on September 19, people on a fishing boat in Florida, USA, encountered something unexpected: an American military drone. It is believed to be an American replica of the Iranian-made 'Shahd-136' drone, which is widely used in warfare.
The fishing charter company Hot Spots Charters located in Pensacola, Florida, USA, stated on social media platform Facebook that they accidentally caught “something strange,” and attached a photo. In the photo, the drone was displayed together with other more common catches.
Hot Spots Charters showcases drone social media screenshot of "capture"
Captain Daniel Aseno of the charter boat wrote: "We had a great six hours today with this team! If anyone is looking for their drones, please contact Hot Spots!"
Another photo shows that this medium-sized drone occupies the entire front of the fishing boat.
Screenshot from social media of the drone that was recycled onto the ship
According to reports, the drone was discovered near Eglin Air Force Base, which is the home base for the 96th Test Wing of the United States Air Force. According to a statement from the Eglin Air Force Base spokesperson, cited by the defense news website The War Zone, the base acknowledged that “a drone disappeared from Eglin’s inventory,” but did not specify the model of the drone.
Spokesperson said, "I can confirm that we were conducting a test at the time when the object fell."
Acenu seemed unconcerned about being captured this time. He told CNN that he was just accidentally encountering the drone. "We were on a nearby flight path when we encountered it,"
According to reports, this drone appears to be a copy of the FLM-136, also known as the “Shahid-136” designed by Iran. The Shahid-136 played a key role in both the conflict in Ukraine and the Iranian war.
The U.S. Air Force announced at the end of last year that it had replicated this Iranian-designed model and referred to it as the “Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System” (LUCAS) drone. The U.S. Central Command announced in early March that the LUCAS drone had been used in warfare against Iran, with the purpose of “carrying out American-made retaliation.”
These drones are manufactured by Spektreworks, based in Arizona. They are 9.8 feet long (2.9 meters) in length, with a wingspan of 8.2 feet (2.5 meters), and weigh 70 pounds (31.75 kilograms).
Photos shared by Hot Spots Charters show that the drone lacks a nose section, and there are no propellers at the rear.
The company later posted about the situation on Facebook: “A black SUV arrived, took their drones away, everything is fine!”
Some anglers seemed to enjoy their catches that day. A Facebook user joked, “Practicing fishing is fun, but the fish have too much bone, and their flesh tastes like aviation gasoline.”
