The U.S. military says an unmanned underwater vehicle Iran claims to have seized in the Strait of Hormuz was a malfunctioning, older model carrying no sensitive data. The dispute follows renewed U.S.-Iran clashes in the Persian Gulf, including tanker strikes and missile fire at Navy warships.
A malfunctioning drone, not a captured secret
U.S. Navy Captain Tim Hawkins told CNBC in a statement shared by U.S. Central Command that the underwater vehicle malfunctioned before Iran recovered it. According to Captain Tim Hawkins: "An underwater drone operated by U.S. forces malfunctioned more than a day ago."
Hawkins said the vessel was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations and that U.S. operations in the area continue. He did not describe how Iran recovered the drone.
Iran's claims meet a Pentagon rebuttal
Iran's Revolutionary Guard had boasted earlier Tuesday that it trapped and captured what it described as an advanced, intelligent American military submersible at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, according to a translated post from state outlet Fars. Fars later posted videos and images purporting to show the vessel out of the water.
But Hawkins pushed back, saying the defective drone was an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried classified sonar or radar equipment. Iranian media identified the craft as a Dive-LD, an autonomous undersea vehicle built by U.S. defense contractor Anduril that costs $2.5 million each, according to a 2024 DefenseScoop report.
Renewed clashes in the Gulf
The dispute surfaced three days after the U.S. and Iran traded new attacks in the Persian Gulf, rekindling hostilities even as the Trump administration shifts its strategy toward defeating Tehran economically. Centcom said it struck three Iranian crude oil carriers in retaliation after the Revolutionary Guard fired ballistic missiles at two Navy warships.
The U.S. military later struck multiple additional Iranian tankers in response to a new attempted missile attack on a Navy warship, MS NOW reported Tuesday afternoon, citing an unnamed U.S. official; Centcom did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on that report.
Autonomous tech takes center stage
The episode underscores the U.S. military's growing reliance on autonomous systems in the region. This summer, unmanned boat startup Saronic used one of its drone vessels to rescue crew from a helicopter downed in the Hormuz Strait, and Saronic's boats were later used in a strike on an Iranian submarine and ship facility.
Source: CNBC
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