Fallen drone … A US-made
unmanned aerial vehicle, identified as a BQM-74E target drone, was recovered in
waters off San Jacinto town on Ticao Island, Masbate, early Sunday morning.
-- Photo courtesy of MASBATE PROVINCIAL POLICE OFFICE
By JONAS
CABILES SOLTES, TARRA QUISMUNDO
NAGA CITY:A
four-meter-long, US-made unmanned aerial vehicle - or “drone” - has been recovered
by fishermen in the waters off San Jacinto town on Ticao Island in Masbate, the
police chief in the island-province said on Monday.
The drone was
seen drifting by fishermen Jolly Llacer and Ricky Cantoria, who fished it out
on Sunday morning and brought it with them to San Jacinto without knowing what
it was, Senior Supt Heriberto Olitoquit said in a phone interview.
Olitoquit said
the two fishermen turned it over to village officials and then to San Jacinto
policemen, who initially reported to the provincial police office that the
object was a “bomb.”
Police
operatives who rushed to the area determined it was an American-made unmanned
aerial vehicle, based on the markings found on the object, Olitoquit said.
Based on the
markings, the drone had the following technical descriptions:
Aerial Target
Drone
BQM-74E Chukar
III
Part No.:
89500-517
Model: BQM 74E
Serial Number:
BQ 55048
Contract No.:
N00019-05-C0040
Cage No.: 77646
Acceptance
Date: April 14, 2008
The drone has a
wingspan of 1.76m and a height of .71m, Olitoquit said.
The word “Navy”
is written on one side of the drone.
Drones are
commonly used for military or nonmilitary surveillance and/or reconnaissance.
Not armed
In Manila, the
US Embassy said the drone that landed off Masbate was neither armed nor used
for intelligence gathering.
The embassy has
yet to say categorically if US forces deployed it.
US Embassy
spokesperson Tina Malone said the embassy was still gathering details about the
recovered drone, including whether American troops had launched it and where it
was launched.
“We are aware
of reports that an apparently US-made unmanned aerial vehicle was recovered in
the waters off Masbate this weekend,” Malone told the Inquirer by text.
She said the
drone was the kind typically used in military training.
“The recovered
vehicle appears to be of the sort that is used as an air defense target in
training exercises,” Malone said.
“This type of
vehicle is not armed and not used for surveillance. We are trying to confirm
this interpretation and to determine how and when it may have landed in the
sea.”
An aerial
target drone is known to be manufactured by American aerospace and defense
technology firm Northrop Grumman.
Olitoquit said
the Masbate police immediately reported the recovery of the drone to the
Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame in Quezon City.
He said he was
later informed by Camp Crame that the Office of the National Security Adviser
had asked the Philippine Navy to retrieve the drone and bring it to Manila on
Monday.
Navy personnel
have been sent to San Jacinto to recover the drone.
Maj. Apollo
Herrera, executive officer of the 9th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army
based in Milagros town in Masbate, said the drone was recovered about 300m from
the shore.
According to
Herrera, the initial information from the PNP was that the object was an
ammunition from a US gunship.
As of 3pm on
Monday, both the PNP and the Army had no idea why a US drone was drifting in
the waters off Masbate.
Olitoquit
allayed fears of a national security threat, saying a drone could also be used
by commercial and private entities for charting or map-making.
But he said it
was up to the higher authorities to determine the implication of the recovery
of the drone on national security.
Based on
information on the Internet, the BQM-74 Chukar is a series of aerial target
drones produced by Northrop and its users include the US Navy and the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato).
It is said to
be used primarily as a realistic aerial target, capable of simulating enemy
threats for gunnery and missile training exercises.
Chukar is the
name of an Asian species of partridge, which is said to be hunted for sport.
In the 1991
Gulf War, according to an Internet article, BQM-74Cs were used as decoys during
the initial air attacks into Iraq. -- Inquirer
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