The United States (US) drone found off Masbate last Sunday was used in a war exercise held outside the country, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Tuesday.
AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos, Jr. said based on their initial assessment, the drone was used in a military exercise somewhere in the Pacific.
“Due to strong currents and weather disturbances that frequent the Pacific, the aerial target drone was possibly washed adrift into our territorial waters,” Burgos said in an interview.
The military insisted that the drone was not a spy plane but an “aerial target drone.”
“Its orange color and US Navy logo suggests that it is used primarily to simulate enemy missiles and aircraft during exercises,” Burgos said.
The drone was found by two fishermen drifting off the coast of Sitio Tacdungan in San Jacinto, Masbate at about 9:30 a.m. last Sunday. The fishermen hesitated to retrieve the unmanned aerial vehicle, thinking it was a bomb.
The aerial vehicle measures 12 feet and 11 inches and is two feet and four inches tall. The drone has a wingspan of five feet and nine inches.
The markings of the plane indicate that it is owned by the US Navy and was manufactured by Northrop Grumman. Also inscribed in the plane are its serial number BQ 55048, contract number N00019-05-C0040 and moderl number BQM74E.
The military immediately sent an explosive ordnance team to investigate the Navy drone. The team found that the drone already had some barnacles and was safe for transport.
The local government transferred the custody of the plane to the Naval Forces Southern Luzon based in Legazpi City.
Coordination is now being made to return the drone to the US Navy.
Burgos also belied allegations that the drone was used to conduct surveillance operations.
Communist rebels have accused the government of letting the US violate Philippine sovereignty by allowing it to deploy spy planes around Masbate.
“The puppet regime of Aquino allowed the US troops to directly participate in the combat operations of the AFP through surveillance and the use of hi-tech military equipment against the revolutionary forces,” the National Democratic Front-Bicol said in a statement.
source: philstar.com