Suspected US drone found floating off Philippines

Thanks to Andrew Dunlop from Millswood Engineering for the tip.

Fishermen found the 3.65-metre drone floating off Masbate island and dragged it to shore.

Provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Heriberto Olitoquit says they initially thought they had hauled in a bomb and alerted police.

“A technical evaluation determined that the object is one unmanned aerial vehicle,” he said.

Superintendent Olitoquit said the drone had been turned over to the Philippines Navy.

Captain Rommel Galang, deputy commander of naval forces in the area, says the US embassy had been informed of the discovery and local authorities would eventually turn it over to them.

The US embassy in Manila released a statement on Monday saying it was looking into reports of the drone’s recovery, without confirming the plane belonged to the United States.

“We are aware of reports that an apparently US-made unmanned aerial vehicle was recovered in the waters off of Masbate this weekend,” the statement said.

“The recovered vehicle appears to be of the sort that is used as an air defence target in training exercises. This type of vehicle is not armed and not used for surveillance.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-08/an-suspected-us-drone-washes-up-in-philippines/4456406