An Israel Air Force unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into the sea about two kilometers from Palmahim beach in central Israel on Tuesday. The cause of the crash remains unclear.

In July, the Israel Defense Forces intentionally crashed a drone of the same kind, after the aircraft displayed signs of a technical malfunction. The troops flying the drone noticed the breakdown during an operation on the border with Egypt and decided to perform a controlled crash on the Israeli side of the border.

Israeli security forces responded on the scene and collected the fragments of the UAV.

A similar incident occurred in May, when the IDF intentionally downed one of its own Heron-class unmanned aerial vehicles, known as "Shoval," in the sea near Netanya following an engine malfunction.

IDF officials explained at the time that the decision to down the UAV was made due to concerns that control over the drone would be lost, and it might crash into populated areas.

In January 2012, a different type of a Heron-class drone, known as "Eitan," crashed in southern Israel while on a test flight. The flight was testing new navigation components in the UAV. A preliminary investigation indicated that the accident was caused by a technical malfunction.