According to ABC News, a United States Navy ship was hit by a drone Monday and had to head back to port.

The U.S.S. Chancellorsville, a guided missile cruiser named for the site of a Civil War battle, was in the middle of conducting radar tracking tests for drone activities when the accident occurred. The drone was not an enemy craft, but rather was launched by the Chancellorsville herself for the tracking tests.

According to a U.S. Navy spokesperson from the Third Fleet, Lt. Lenaya Rotklein, the drone was 13 feet long, 1 foot in diameter and had a wingspan of nearly 6 feet. She said the aircraft hit the ships port side – that’s the left for you landlubbers.

She said that the cause of the accident is still undetermined, but that investigators at the Naval Base San Diego are looking into what might have caused it.

The drone slammed into the side of the ship, leaving a 2 to 3 foot wide hole in the side of the ship. In the resultant explosion 2 seamen suffered minor burns.

The use of drones by the United States has been the cause of much concern over the past couple of years, with vocal parties on both sides of the aisle expressing concern over who is targeted and how, particularly by the Obama administration.

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