Florida Man Makes the Fishing Catch of a Lifetime!

Florida Fishing Charter Makes One Hell of an Unexpected Catch: A Military Drone

When you head out on a fishing charter in the Gulf of Mexico, you generally have a pretty good idea what you’re hoping to bring back to the dock. Mahi-mahi, Snapper, maybe a Grouper. Maybe even a shark if the day gets interesting. But a nearly 10-foot military drone probably isn’t on the list.

That’s exactly what happened this weekend when Hot Spots Charters, a fishing operation based in Pensacola, Florida, spotted something floating offshore and decided to investigate. What initially looked like some kind of boat turned out to be a large unmanned aircraft floating in the Gulf. Because apparently the Gulf needed to add military hardware to its list of things you might accidentally encounter.

What Happened Exactly?

Captain Daniel Arsenault was operating the charter when the crew spotted the unusual object. Arsenault told reporters they were simply riding offshore when they noticed it floating in the water. After getting closer, they realized it was a drone.

The discovery happened near Eglin Air Force Base, home of the U.S. Air Force’s 96th Test Wing and one of the country’s major military testing facilities. Eglin officials later confirmed that a test article had gone down during a test, although they did not publicly confirm that the aircraft recovered by the fishermen was the same drone.

The drone itself appears to resemble an FLM 136, an unmanned aerial target associated with the military’s Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, or LUCAS. The aircraft is based on the design of Iran’s Shahed-136 drone and is used for military training and testing. The particular aircraft recovered by the fishing crew has not been officially identified by the Air Force.

And here’s where the story gets even more Florida. The crew didn’t just find the drone. They actually managed to haul the thing aboard the fishing boat. According to reports, Arsenault had active-duty military helicopter pilots aboard the charter who recognized the aircraft as a target drone, giving the captain more confidence that bringing it aboard wasn’t going to turn into a spectacularly bad afternoon. The crew also noticed a mahi-mahi swimming underneath the aircraft, because apparently even the fish wanted to know what the hell was going on.

The Feds Come and Take it Away

Hot Spots Charters posted photographs of the unusual catch online with a tongue-in-cheek message asking anyone looking for their drone to give them a call. The drone reportedly measured roughly 9.8 feet long with an 8.2-foot wingspan and weighed around 70 pounds. Photographs showed significant portions of the aircraft missing, including its nose and propulsion components, consistent with an impact or crash into the water.

The fishermen eventually contacted authorities, and the drone was taken into government custody. Hot Spots later joked that “the black SUVs came and got their drone,” apparently bringing this bizarre fishing trip to its inevitable conclusion.

The incident is unusual, but the location isn’t entirely surprising. Eglin Air Force Base conducts extensive weapons and aircraft testing in the region, including activities over the Gulf. Military aircraft and test articles occasionally end up in the water during these operations.

What remains unclear is exactly what happened to this particular drone, what test it was involved in and how long it had been floating in the Gulf before the fishing crew came across it. For the fishermen, however, the story is considerably simpler. They went out looking for fish. They came back with a military drone. Somewhere, a government employee apparently had a very different idea of where that drone was supposed to be. And judging from the arrival of the black SUVs, somebody eventually figured out where it went.

Sources for Article

• The War Zone: Shahed-136 Clone Found By Florida Fisherman, Eglin AFB Admits It Lost a Drone
• Military Times: What a catch! Florida fishing boat reels in UAS resembling LUCAS drone
• Task & Purpose: Fishing charter catches Air Force attack drone off Florida coast
• WESH/CNN: Florida fishing charter makes an unexpected catch: A US military drone
• WPTV/CNN: Florida fishing charter accidentally reels in missing US military drone near Eglin Air Force Base
• WEAR-TV Pensacola: Eglin AFB recovers drone pulled from Gulf waters off Pensacola Beach
• Pensacola Patch: Fishing Charter Found U.S. Military Drone In FL Waters
• People: Fishing Crew Reels in Odd Finding in the Water: a 10-Foot-Long U.S. Military Drone