Key facts
- A suicide drone crashed into the sea during a combat test on Tuesday.
- The drone was launched from the 14,000-ton Marado amphibious assault ship.
- The failure was caused by a defect in the launch tube, specifically a misalignment.
- The misalignment led to an imbalance in repulsive force, causing the drone to crash.
- The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) is investigating the cause of the defect.
A suicide drone being tested from South Korea's Marado amphibious assault ship crashed into the sea shortly after launch due to a defect in its launch tube. The loitering munition, designed for reconnaissance, surveillance, and strike missions, was intended to hit a target boat near Busan on Tuesday.
According to the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), the drone plunged into the sea twice seconds after launch because of a "misalignment" in the left door of the lower part of the launch tube. This misalignment resulted in an imbalance in the repulsive force, causing the drone to lose balance and crash.