09-01-2013, 03:52 AM
Suspected US drone found in waters off Masbate baffles officials
AMANDA FERNANDEZ, GMA NEWS January 7, 2013 6:24pm
(Updated 7:56 p.m.) A drone bearing the markings of the United States military was found floating in the waters off Masbate on Sunday morning, baffling authorities, including the US Embassy.
"We are trying to confirm this interpretation and to determine how and when it may have landed in the sea," said embassy spokesperson Tina Malone in a statement on Monday.
![[Image: ZZZ_010713_2_c.jpg]](http://www8.gmanews.tv/webpics/v3/2013/01/ZZZ_010713_2_c.jpg)
[SIZE=2px]The US Embassy in Manila said the ty[SIZE=2px]pe of drone found off Masbate is not armed and not used for surveillance. Photo courtesy of [/SIZE]PNP-MPS[/SIZE]The drone an unmanned aerial vehicle was recovered off Sitio Tacdugan in San Jacinto town Sunday morning, according to Masbate provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Heriberto Olitoquit.
The US Embassy, however, is still verifying if the drone belongs to the US military.
"We are aware of reports that an apparently US-made unmanned aerial vehicle was recovered in the waters off of Masbate this weekend," Malone said. "The recovered vehicle appears to be of the sort that is used as an air defense target in training exercises."
Malone added that the type of drone found off Masbate "is not armed and not used for surveillance."
Capt. Rommel Jason Galang, deputy commander of the Naval Forces Southern Luzon, said the drone was brought to the shore by the diver who found it with the help of local fishermen.
The drone was brought to the San Jacinto Municipal Police Station before it was turned over to the Philippine Navy.
When asked about the presence of the US drone in Masbate, Galang said: "Everything is just factual. We do not want to give any interpretation. Actually that's the same question we are asking."
A police report said the "US-made aerial dronean unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)" was a model BQM-74E Chukar III with a length of 12 ft. 11 inches, a wingspan of 5 ft. 9 inches, and height of 2 ft. 4 inches.
According to the website Northrop Grunman Corporation, Chukar III aerial target is used as a threat simulator for weapons training. It said its primary mission is to "emulate enemy tactical cruise missiles or fighter/strike aircraft."
Drifted to Masbate?
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has ordered Undersecretary Edilberto Adan, head of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) Commission, to investigate why the drone ended up in the waters off Masbate.
In a statement, DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said Adan was instructed to "look into the matter and file a full report."
"We are also coordinating with the [Department of National Defense] as well as with the concerned US Embassy officials," Hernandez said. He assured the public that "every effort is being undertaken to address this issue."
Reached for comment, Adan said the Chukar III is usually towed by an aircraft. He said the drone may have fallen somewhere else, and could have drifted to Masbate province since aerial practices involving drones are not done in the Philippines.
"It is not determined where it came from. We are not sure where it came, it may have been drifted by the waves," Adan told GMA News Online in a phone interview.
US troops in Mindanao
In a March 2012 Agence France-Presse interview, President Benigno Aquino III said the Philippines only allows US drones to conduct reconnaissance flights over Philippine territory. Strikes from these unmanned vehicles are banned.
When asked whether the Philippines would allow, or had allowed, US drones to drop bombs, Aquino said that would violate a ban on the American forces from participating in combat operations.
About 600 US forces have been rotating in Mindanao since 2002 to help train local troops to deal with Islamic militants. However, Masbate, where the drone was found, is many hundreds of kilometers from Mindanao and no US troops are known to operate there.
One major security problem in Masbate is the support there for communists who have been waging a decades-long rebellion that continues to claim dozens of lives every year.
In other countries, such as Pakistan, other types of US drones have been used against enemies of the United States. US drone strikes have killed many senior Taliban leaders and have dramatically increased since US President Barack Obama took office, peaking at 117 in 2010.
However, it is unlikely that the drone found off Masbate could be used in these kinds of strike or reconnaissance missions . According to the official website of the U.S. Air Force, these strike missions are carried out by either the MQ-1 Predator or the MQ-9 Reaper killer/scout drones.
These unmanned vehicles are equipped, primarily, with AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground guided missles mounted on underwing pylons or hardpoints. The wings on these propeller driven aircraft are substantial (27 feet on the Predator and 66 feet for the Reaper), provinding not only hardpoints to mount ordnance, but also plenty of lift and fuel to allow them to loiter over an area for up to 14 hours at a time.
Contrast this with the Chukar, primarily a target vehicle, with jet engines and a wingspan shy of six feet. with Michaela del Callar and Agence France-Presse/KBK/YA, GMA News
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"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.