Firefighters put out a fire sparked by a collision between a drone and a helicopter at an Army airfield in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, in this photo provided by the Kyeonggi Daily, March 17. Yonhap

The Army has partially suspended flights of its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) after a drone collided with a helicopter parked at an airfield earlier this week, officials said Tuesday.

On Monday, a Heron reconnaissance drone collided with a Surion helicopter at the airfield in Yangju, just north of Seoul, as the UAV attempted to land, sparking a fire that destroyed both aircraft but left no one injured. Another helicopter was also slightly scratched from the incident.

In response, the Army partially suspended drone flights Monday as part of an investigation into the accident, an Army official said, without offering details.

When asked about possible disruptions to reconnaissance operations, Lt. Col. Yang Seung-kwan, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said other military assets would be utilized for such operations but declined to elaborate, citing operational security.

The military employs various assets to monitor North Korean military activities, including the Israeli-made Heron drones, the Air Force's Global Hawk UAVs and spy satellites.

The latest accident has left the Army unable to operate its three Heron UAVS introduced in 2016. One of the UAVs crashed last November after a North Korean GPS attack, while another one is undergoing maintenance.

The collision took place after two fighter jets mistakenly bombed a town in the northern city of Pocheon on March 6, injuring 38 people. (Yonhap)