Talk about catch of the day — Florida fishing charter snags a huge military drone in the Gulf of Mexico, but no one is claiming it yet
Mystery deepens after fishing charter nets damaged drone
by https://www.techradar.com/author/efosa-udinmwen · TechRadarNews By Efosa Udinmwen Published 22 September 2026 3 min read
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- Pensacola fishermen pulls large unidentified military drone from the Gulf
- The aircraft surfaced only miles from Eglin’s extensive military testing zones
- Authorities recovered the drone without publicly identifying its origin or mission
A Pensacola-based fishing charter pulled a large military-style drone from Gulf of Mexico waters over the weekend, surprising both crew and onlookers.
Hot Spot Fishing Charters discovered it during a routine six-hour trip roughly 15 to 30 miles offshore from Pensacola Beach.
Authorities arrived later that same day and retrieved the aircraft, though details about the recovery process itself remain largely unavailable to the public.
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An unusual interruption
The waters near this stretch of coastline sit close to Eglin Air Force Base, one of the largest military test ranges nationwide.
That base oversees restricted airspace and offshore zones used for trials of advanced weapons systems, including hypersonic missile technology in recent years.
The exact model of the drone remains unconfirmed, though local station WEAR-TV suggested the aircraft resembles an MQM-172, a drone flown for weapons testing and aircrew training.
The delta-wing shape of that platform also resembles Iran's Shahed-136 strike drone, a design widely recognized for its distinctive triangular silhouette.
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