The US military destroyed two small Iranian boats that allegedly attempted to seize an American sea drone patrolling waters off Iran.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said the boats tried to take control of a Saildrone unmanned surface vessel used to monitor maritime traffic.
After detecting the attempted seizure, US forces deployed an aerial drone that fired two missiles, destroying both boats and reportedly killing most of those aboard.
Iran offered a different account, identifying the vessels as fishing boats attacked by an “enemy drone.” Iranian state media said search-and-rescue operations were underway for an unspecified number of missing fishermen.
Iranian officials said the strike occurred Monday evening in the Persian Gulf near Larak Island. CENTCOM did not disclose the exact location of the confrontation.
Hawkins said the Saildrone remains under US operational control and that all American surface drones in the region are accounted for.
Earlier US Drone Captured
The clash came one week after Iranian forces captured an Anduril-built Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.
Hawkins confirmed that the drone had malfunctioned more than a day before its capture and was no longer in American possession.
He described the Dive-LD as an older, defective model that “neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment.”
“It was in a commercially available configuration so we aren’t concerned,” Hawkins noted, as quoted by the Associated Press.
