A group aboard a Florida fishing charter reeled in an unusual catch when they found a large military drone floating in the Gulf of Mexico.
Pensacola-based fishing charter company Hot Spots Charters posted a picture of the U.S. military drone on Facebook along with a statement about the unexpected catch.
“Great 6 hour today with this crew! If anyone is looking for their drone please call Hot Spots! – Captain Daniel,” the post read.
In another picture shared by charter captain Daniel Arsenault, the drone, missing its nose section and propeller, filled the entire bow of the fishing boat.
According to CNN, the drone is believed to be a clone of the infamous Iranian-designed Shahed-136. WEAR News speculated that it might be an MQM-172, an unmanned aerial target aircraft used by the U.S. military for training and weapons testing. So far, however, the drone’s model has not been officially verified.
The floating drone may have originated in Okaloosa County at nearby Eglin Air Force Base, one of the biggest military test ranges in the United States.
According to The War Zone, which cited an Eglin Air Force Base spokeswoman, the Air Force admitted a drone was missing from its inventory but would not identify the type.
“I can confirm that we were doing a test and the test article went down,” the spokesperson told the news site.
The drone was reportedly picked up later that day. Hot Spots Charters stated, “The black SUVs came and got their drone; all is good.”
The unusual catch led to numerous comical comments on social media
Several people on Facebook found the unique find quite amusing. Many comments shared a similar theme.
“That would be in my man cave so fast,” one person wrote.
“Bring it to the taxidermist!” someone else joked.
“That would have made a great wall mount!” another person commented.