U.S. Forces Respond to Iranian Drone Seizure Attempt
PHOTO CAPTION: A U.S. Navy Saildrone Explorer operates in Middle Eastern waters during a 2022 maritime exercise. U.S. Central Command says Iranian small boats recently attempted to seize a Saildrone operating in the region before U.S. forces responded. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Dawson Roth)
Iranian Boats Tried to Seize a U.S. Navy Drone in the Strait of Hormuz. Then U.S. Forces Responded.
A strange new confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz is giving the military world another “how the hell did that happen?” moment.
The U.S. military says Iranian small boats recently tried to take possession of an American unmanned surface vessel operating in the region.
According to U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins, the attempt failed after CENTCOM “forcefully responded,” and the drone remained under U.S. operational control.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the vessel involved was a Saildrone, a roughly 25-foot unmanned craft that can operate autonomously and has been used by CENTCOM for maritime surveillance in the region.
But what happened next is where the story escalates.
Axios, citing a U.S. official, reported that after American forces identified the attempted seizure, a U.S. drone fired two missiles at the approaching boats. Both boats were destroyed, and most of the people aboard were killed, according to that official.
The U.S. military initially did not publicly disclose the strike.
Iran, however, is telling a very different version of the incident.
Iranian state media reported Monday that two fishing boats were attacked off the coast of Hormozgan province and that several fishermen were missing. Iranian officials attributed the attack to the U.S. military and said search-and-rescue operations were underway.
That leaves two sharply different accounts of the same encounter.
The U.S. says Iranian boats attempted to seize an American military drone and were stopped by force.
Iranian reporting describes the vessels as fishing boats that came under attack.
CENTCOM has confirmed the attempted seizure but has not publicly released a detailed timeline showing exactly how close the boats came to the Saildrone or how the attempted takeover unfolded.
What is clear is that the American unmanned vessel was not captured.
Hawkins said all of CENTCOM’s surface drones remain accounted for, and the Saildrone involved in the incident stayed under U.S. control.
The confrontation comes only about a week after Iran claimed it had captured a different American unmanned vehicle near the Strait of Hormuz.
That earlier incident involved an Anduril Dive-LD underwater drone. U.S. officials later said the vehicle had malfunctioned while operating in the region and that it was an older model that did not contain sensitive or classified surveillance technology.
This time, the outcome was very different.
Instead of losing the unmanned vessel, U.S. forces responded before Iranian boats could take it.
The incident also highlights just how unusual the expanding drone war around the Strait of Hormuz has become.
Unmanned systems are now routinely being used to patrol the waterway, monitor shipping and support U.S. operations in one of the most contested maritime corridors in the world.
And apparently, someone just tried to steal one.
(Source: OAF Nation)
