US Air Force drone washes ashore on Florida beach

A 20-foot-long US Air Force drone that had been shot down in target practice was found washed ashore on a Florida beach, authorities said.

The massive orange drone, which are used as aerial targets for fighter pilots, was discovered by beachgoers at Ocean Hammond Park near Boynton Beach, authorities said.

Ocean Ridge Police officers were called to the scene after bystanders feared the aircraft could have been a missile or a bomb.

The area of the beach was evacuated and remained closed until the afternoon, when officers were able to remove the drone and returned it to the Air Force, Police Chief Hal C. Hutchins said.

US Air Force officials later confirmed the unmanned vehicle was a BQM-167A drone that belonged to the 53rd Wing.

The drone had been shot down in target practice after being remotely launched from Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, public affairs spokeswoman Lt. Savannah Bray said.

‘This is not the first time this has happened,’ Bray said. ‘We are able to retrieve the vast majority of them, but every so often weather or winds pick up, and we are unable to recover it, and they later wash up on shore.’

The 690-pound drone, which can travel at speeds up to nearly 700mph, was shot down in the Gulf of Mexico near Eglin Air Force Base, she said. Bray added that the downed drone eventually made its way to the Atlantic Coast.

Bray confirmed the $570,000 piece of military equipment was not dangerous to handle.

Beachgoer Jeremiah Gonzales told news station Local 10 he had been walking down to the beach when an officer warned him to stay away.

‘He comes running back up and he’s like, “Hey, there’s a bomb on the beach or there’s a missile on the beach.” I was like, what do you mean?’ he said.

Chief Hutchins said the public was later informed that the area was deemed safe and that ‘there is no danger to anyone going near it.’

‘It’s a drone, so it is fuel and [people] were concerned about the fact that it is a piece of military equipment and there’s fuel in it,’ Hutchins told the station.