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

In a statement on Facebook, the AFM said that the Heron 1 UAV encountered a fault earlier in the day and was forced to land in the sea.

The drone was being operated by Frontex as part of its maritime border surveillance operations in the Central Mediterranean.

The AFM said it had deployed assets to the area to locate and secure the unmanned aircraft.

No further details were immediately provided on the cause or the location of the aircraft at the time of publication.

Photo: Wikimedia