“Troops flying the Hermes 450-type drone noticed the malfunction during an operation and decided to perform a controlled crash” over a border area near Egypt Sunday night, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

The daily also said Israeli security forces cordoned off the region and collected the remains of the aircraft.

The Israeli military is reportedly investigating the cause of the malfunction, which most likely originated from its engine.

A similar incident occurred in May, when the Israeli regime shot down one of its own Heron-class drones, known as “Shovel” over the Mediterranean Sea following an engine malfunction.

On July 7, an Israeli F-16 warplane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea following an engine malfunction.

The US-made F-16, which is Israel’s latest and most advanced warplane, crashed west of the Gaza Strip during a training flight.

According to an Israeli military spokesman, the plane’s two crew members, the pilot and the navigator, parachuted into the sea and were rescued.

Following the incident, Israeli military grounded all its F-15 and F-16 warplanes.

In October 2012, the Israeli military grounded its entire fleet of aircraft for a day in the wake of a number of near-miss incidents during training flights.

In January 2012, a different type of a Heron-class drone, known as “Eitan,” also crashed in southern Israel while on a test flight.

BA/BA