An ultra-endurance long-range drone registered to Vanilla Unmanned crashed into a bluff near Ninilchik, Alaska on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (Contributed photo)

An ultra-endurance long-range drone registered to Vanilla Unmanned crashed into a bluff near Ninilchik, Alaska on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (Contributed photo)

Drone crashes on Ninilchik beach

NTSB is investigating the crash, which occurred Wednesday.

A drone registered to manufacturer and operator Vanilla Unmanned crashed on the beach near Ninilchik on Wednesday, Aug. 20, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a preliminary report released Thursday.

A spokesperson for U.S. Northern Command said that the drone was taking part in Arctic Edge 2025, an annual joint defense exercise conducted by NORAD and USNORTHCOM. The exercise is ongoing in Alaska through Aug. 31.

Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska Regional Office, said Friday that the drone was coming back from an extended mission and lost power on its return to the Kenai Airport. The operator shot an approach to a beach by Ninilchik, but the drone collided with a bluff during the approach and sustained “substantial damage.”

Johnson said that the drone is “roughly the size of a small plane,” like a single-engine Super Cub.

NTSB is currently investigating the crash.

According to their website, Vanilla Unmanned is owned and operated by Maryland-based Platform Aerospace and is a “world-record holding” ultra-long endurance unmanned aircraft system “capable of multi-day flights with unmatched payload capacity.”

Platform Aerospace did not respond to request for comment on Friday.

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