Shahed-136 Clone Found By Florida Fisherman, Eglin AFB Admits It Lost A Drone

A Florida fishing captain recovered a damaged delta-wing drone offshore near Eglin Air Force Base, prompting speculation that it was a US-built Shahed-136 surrogate. The airframe resembles the FLM-136 family developed as a threat-replication target and related to the low-cost LUCAS one-way attack drone. Eglin acknowledged that a test article had gone down during local activity, but officials did not conclusively identify the recovered object as that missing aircraft. Such replicas allow US forces to test sensors, weapons and tactics against Iranian-style drones without relying on captured originals, although the precise experiment remains undisclosed.