Florida fishing charter makes an unexpected catch: A US military drone

Speckled trout, redfish, flounder, mackerel, sharks. These are what you might expect to reel in while fishing off the Florida panhandle on any given day.

But on Saturday, a group aboard a fishing charter were met with an unexpected encounter: a US military drone believed to be a clone of the notorious Iranian-designed Shahed-136.

Hot Spots Charters, a fishing charter company out of Pensacola, said on Facebook it made the surprising catch, alongside a photo of the drone against its other, more assuming, snags.

“Great 6 hour today with this crew! If anyone is looking for their drone please call Hot Spots!” charter captain Daniel Arsenault wrote.

Another photo showed the drone taking up the entire bow section of the fishing boat.

The discovery was reportedly made near Eglin Air Force Base, home of the US Air Force’s 96th Test Wing.

The Air Force acknowledged a drone was missing from the Eglin inventory, though it would not specify the type, according to defense news site, The War Zone , citing an Eglin AFB spokesperson.

“I can confirm that we were doing a test and the test article went down,” the spokesperson told TWZ. CNN has asked Eglin AFB for comment.

Arsenault, seeming unfazed by the catch, told CNN he came across the drone by chance.

“Riding along offshore and saw it floating,” he told CNN.

The drone appeared be an FLM 136, a clone of the Iranian-designed Shahed 136, which has played a key role in the Ukraine and Iran wars.

The Air Force announced late last year it had cloned the Iranian-designed model, calling them the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System, or LUCAS, drones.

The US military is deploying a new weapon in the conflict with Iran: the LUCAS attack drone — a low-cost unmanned system modeled after Iran’s Shahed-136 “kamikaze” drone. CNN’s Tom Foreman breaks down how it works, why its low heat signature makes it harder to track, and how this small drone is turning into a major force on the battlefield.

CNN breaks down how the US is using Iran-inspired attack drones

Manufactured by Arizona-based Spektreworks, the drones are 9.8 feet (2.9 meters) 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 , “delivering American-made retribution.”

The photos shared by Hot Spots Charters showed the drone missing its nose section and propellor in the rear.

The company later said on Facebook, “The black suvs came and got their drone, all is good!”

Some anglers appeared to revel in the catch of the day.

“Fun fight but they’re super bony and taste like avgas,” one Facebook user wrote.

“Aren’t those strictly catch and release?” wrote another.

CNN’s Isaac Yee contributed to this report.

斑点鳟鱼、红鱼、比目鱼、鲭鱼、鲨鱼。这些都是你在佛罗里达狭长地带垂钓时，每天可能钓到的鱼类。

但周六，一群乘坐包船出海钓鱼的人遭遇了一次意想不到的遭遇：一架据信是臭名昭著的伊朗设计的 Shahed-136 无人机的克隆版的美国军用无人机。

彭萨科拉的一家钓鱼包船公司 Hot Spots Charters 在 Facebook 上表示，他们捕获了这条令人惊讶的鱼，并附上了一张无人机与其他看似普通的障碍物的照片。

“今天和这群船员一起度过了美好的6个小时！如果有人在找自己的无人机，请联系Hot Spots！”包机船长丹尼尔·阿森诺特写道。

另一张照片显示，无人机占据了渔船的整个船头部分。

据报道，这一发现是在埃格林空军基地附近进行的，该基地是美国空军第96测试联队的驻地。

据国防新闻网站“战区”援引埃格林空军基地发言人的话报道，空军承认埃格林空军基地的无人机库存中缺少一架无人机，但并未具体说明是哪种型号。

发言人告诉TWZ：“我可以确认我们当时正在进行测试，测试样品坠落了。” CNN已向埃格林空军基地寻求置评。

阿森诺特似乎并未受到无人机被捕获的影响，他告诉 CNN，他是偶然发现这架无人机的。

“我沿着海岸线行驶，看到它漂浮在水面上，”他告诉 CNN。

这架无人机看起来像是FLM 136，它是伊朗设计的Shahed 136的仿制品，Shahed 136在乌克兰战争和伊朗战争中发挥了关键作用。

美国空军去年底宣布，他们已经仿制了伊朗设计的无人机，并将其命名为低成本无人作战攻击系统（LUCAS）无人机。

美国军方正在与伊朗的冲突中部署一种新型武器：LUCAS攻击无人机——一种低成本的无人系统，其设计仿照伊朗的Shahed-136“神风特攻队”无人机。CNN的汤姆·福尔曼将详细解读它的工作原理，解释其低热信号为何使其更难追踪，以及这种小型无人机如何成为战场上的重要力量。

CNN深入分析了美国如何使用受伊朗启发而设计的攻击型无人机

这些无人机由位于亚利桑那州的 Spektreworks 公司制造，长 9.8 英尺（2.9 米），翼展 8.2 英尺，重 70 磅。

美国中央司令部在 3 月初宣布，LUCAS 无人机正在与伊朗的战争中使用，“实施美国制造的报复”。

Hot Spots Charters 分享的照片显示，这架无人机缺少机头部分和尾部的螺旋桨。

该公司随后在 Facebook 上表示：“黑色 SUV 来取走了他们的无人机，一切都好！”

有些垂钓者似乎对当天的渔获感到非常满意。

一位 Facebook 用户写道：“打架很有趣，但它们骨头很多，而且吃起来像航空汽油。”

“难道这些不都是严格意义上的捕获后放生吗？”另一位网友写道。

CNN的艾萨克·伊对本报道亦有贡献。