The crew of a civilian fishing boat off the coast of Florida accidentally hauled a U.S. Air Force military drone out of the sea. The aircraft turned out to be a LUCAS drone—an American clone of the Iranian Shahed-136, which the Air Force lost during tests near Eglin Air Force Base. CNN reports, writes UNN.
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Hot Spots Charters, a company that organizes fishing tours from Pensacola, reported the unusual catch on Facebook. Its captain, Daniel Arseneau, posted a photo of the aircraft alongside the traditional catch, praised the crew for six successful hours at sea, and jokingly suggested that the drone’s owner call the company.
According to media reports, the discovery was made near Eglin Air Force Base, home to the 96th Test Wing. A base spokesperson confirmed to The War Zone that tests had been conducted there and that a test vehicle had fallen during them.
The fisherman, who appeared not to be bothered in the slightest by the discovery, told the publication that he spotted the drone by chance when the vessel was in open water and the drone was drifting on the surface.
It is likely that this was an FLM 136, an American copy of the Iranian Shahed 136, which has become one of the key weapons in the wars in Ukraine and Iran. Late last year, the U.S. Air Force announced that it had replicated the Iranian design, naming such aircraft LUCAS, an acronym for Low-Cost Unmanned Attack System.