Iran seized the US's most advanced underwater drone in Hormuz

Iran Seizes US's Most Advanced Underwater Drone in Hormuz

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that it has seized a US-owned unmanned underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz. This incident has once again demonstrated how underwater drones are being used in military operations.

According to Iranian state media, the seized underwater drone is a large autonomous underwater vehicle named Dive-LD, developed by the California-based defense company Anduril.

According to the company, the 5.8-meter-long vehicle is designed to perform various missions. It is capable of mine countermeasures, seafloor mapping, intelligence gathering, and inspecting undersea infrastructure such as cables and pipelines.

"We intercepted one of the modern and smart drone vessels of the terrorist American army in the Strait of Hormuz. This vehicle is equipped with the latest technologies," the corps' navy said in a statement.

In response, a Pentagon spokesperson stated that the underwater drone had malfunctioned a few days ago.

"It was conducting surveillance in territorial waters to support ongoing operations. The malfunctioning drone was an older model and did not contain classified information or secret sonar and radar equipment," the Pentagon representative said.

Anduril also confirmed that one of its vehicles was lost, but downplayed the incident.

"The Dive-LD is an autonomous system designed from the outset to operate in high-risk environments where the probability of loss is high," a company spokesperson said.

The US military is investing heavily in marine drones to monitor oceans and track enemy groups without putting sailors' lives at risk.

According to the company's website, the Dive-LD can operate for up to 10 days without returning to base. It is designed to dive to depths of up to 6,000 meters. According to the military news website DefenseScoop, each such Dive-LD device costs approximately $2.5 million.

Four oil tankers linked to Iran were targeted in the Gulf of Oman, and another near Kharg Island.

In response, Tehran launched missiles at a US base in Jordan. Jordan's air defense systems shot down 18 of Iran's 20 missiles.