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news/2008/04/airforce_drone_found_041008w
news/2008/04/airforce_drone_found_041008w
Aerial target drones wash up on Alabama beach
By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Apr 11, 2008 15:34:46 EDT
Posted : Friday Apr 11, 2008 15:34:46 EDT
Two aerial drones used by Air Force fighter jets for target practice washed up on the shore near Fort Morgan, Ala., on Wednesday and Thursday and were found by spring break revelers.
An Air Force missile retriever ship sailed from Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., to Fort Morgan and retrieved the 20-foot drones Thursday, said Master Sgt. Andrew Leonhard, a spokesman for the 53rd Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
The BQM-167 Skeeters were launched from Tyndall and shot down March 17 and March 20, Leonhard said.
He said drones used for target practice usually are retrieved within an hour of being shot down, but the seas were too rough on those days for divers to enter the water. The drones were left to either sink or drift with the current, Leonhard said.
In past cases, he said, targeting drones have been found on beaches as far west as Houston.
The 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron at Tyndall maintains and launches the drones.
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