Drone forensic analysis may take 6 to 8 weeks
It may take up to two months for the Armed Forces of the Philippines to determine the origin and purpose of the drone that Filipino fishermen found off the coast of Masbate province on Dec. 30.
Comm. John Percie Alcos, Philippine Navy spokesperson, said at a press briefing on Tuesday that a forensic analysis of the drone, which was recovered in a nonoperational status, was ongoing and may take six to eight weeks to complete.
The analysis, Alcos told reporters, would determine its origin, purpose, technical specifications, physical structure, electronic components, power source and any possible stored data.
“While initial observations suggest that it may be a submersible used for scientific research or fish tracking, alternative perspectives point to possible military applications,” he said.
Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea was also at the briefing and said the drone, with a HY-119 marking, was bright yellow in color, three to five meters in length, 24 centimeters in diameter, and weighed 94 kilograms.
“Equipment such as these are used for gathering bathymetric data, such as water temperature, the depth of water, and salinity,” Trinidad said.
No air drop
He pointed out that the “absence of any attachments for airdrop capability would rule out an air launch platform.”
“Since the wings are not foldable, then we could rule out a submarine launch method for this. So most likely, this was launched from a mother ship, a mother craft. It is not large enough to travel far distances,” he said.
Trinidad assured Filipinos that the AFP was “on top of the situation and taking this seriously,” saying that we are “concerned that we have this unusual equipment in our waters.”
“A lot of speculation has been going on, but let me state that speculation is no substitute for evidence,” he said.
According to Trinidad, the military has yet to establish if the drone was launched or operated by China despite its Chinese marking of HY-119.
“But again, these do not amount to anything. We need hard scientific evidence to say where this came from and what the other parameters surrounding its presence are,” he said.
Trinidad said “bits and pieces” of similar equipment were also recovered in waters off the northern islands and eastern seaboards of the country in August and September.
