Suicide drone falls into sea after launch due to minor defect: officials

A suicide drone crashed into the sea following its launch during a combat test on Tuesday, due to a defect in its launch tube, according to its manufacturer. The loitering munition, being developed by the military, was launched from the 14,000-ton Marado amphibious assault ship and was intended to target a boat in waters near the southern port city of Busan.

However, the drone plummeted into the sea mere seconds after takeoff, resulting from a misalignment in the left door of the lower section of the launch tube, as reported by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD). The misalignment caused an imbalance in the repulsive force, leading the drone to lose its equilibrium and rotate all the way to the right before sinking into the sea.

Despite the crash, officials from the ADD stated that both the drone and the overall system were functioning normally at the time of the incident. The agency suspects that the misalignment might have occurred during the assembly process or while moving the launcher, emphasizing that they are currently investigating the precise cause of the event. This marks the first occurrence of such an issue during the test run of the suicide drone.