Frontex surveillance drone ditches into sea off Malta

The Armed Forces of Malta says it has deployed assets after a Frontex unmanned aerial vehicle came down in the Central Mediterranean following technical difficulties.

5 April 2026, 4:51pm
by Juliana Zammit

1 min read

IAI Heron-1 Maritime patrol (Photo: Wikimedia)

A Frontex-operated drone was forced to ditch at sea after experiencing technical difficulties on Sunday, the Armed Forces of Malta said.

In a statement, the AFM said the Heron 1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle was operated by Frontex as part of its maritime border control activities in the Central Mediterranean.

Frontex is the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, the EU body responsible for managing the bloc's external borders.

The AFM said it had deployed assets to locate and secure the drone.

No further details on the cause of the technical failure or the location of the aircraft were given at the time of publication.

Juliana Zammit is a part-time staff reporter and social media journalist. She is current...