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

By Brad Lendon, CNN

(CNN) — 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.

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.

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CNN’s Isaac Yee contributed to this report.