A drone from the Dutch army crashed yesterday on the Maasvlakte. During an overnight flight, the pilot lost contact with the aircraft that he or she was operating remotely. The drone flew into a position on the premises of container company APM Terminal Rotterdam.
A spokesman for the army confirms the crash against the regional broadcaster Rijnmond. A spokesperson for APM says the drone ended up in a closed part of the site.
It is a drone of the type Puma, which has not been used by Defense for very long. They are the responsibility of the Joint Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition Command. That is a unit that collects information. The Pumas have an infrared and an optical camera and have a new value of 250,000 euros.
Intruders looking for drugs
Two such drones have been used regularly to monitor corona measures from the air. They flew including above the Biesbosch. The crashed drone that flew above APM yesterday was, according to Rijnmond, on a test flight. APM regularly deals with intruders looking for drugs. APM is investigating together with the Ministry of Defense whether these intruders can be detected from the air.
It is unclear whether the trial will continue after the crash.
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