Iran’s military said it seized an American-made underwater drone near the Strait of Hormuz. The US military said the uncrewed system had malfunctioned and was “dead in the water.”
The Navy has employed uncrewed undersea and surface vessels in and around the Middle East for an expanding range of missions, including clearing mines, gathering intelligence, rescuing military personnel, and conducting strikes.
On Tuesday, Iranian state-run media said that the country’s naval forces had captured an “advanced” US Navy underwater drone near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz during an intelligence operation.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting shared photos on social media of what it identified as the American drone, including it being pulled out of the water and close-up shots of the machine.
A spokesperson for US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, told Business Insider that “an underwater drone operated by US forces malfunctioned more than a day ago” while surveying regional waters. The official said that the undersea drone “was an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment.”
Having malfunctioned, “the drone was essentially dead in the water for more than a day,” the spokesperson added. The breakdown occurred before Iran’s announcement.
The incident isn’t the first time Iran has attempted to seize a US naval drone. In September 2022, for instance, the Iranian destroyer Jamaran captured two American drone boats, pulling them out of the Red Sea and examining them on deck.
At the time, the Navy responded by sending two guided-missile destroyers, USS Nitze and USS Delbert D. Black, as well as an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter. The Iranian crew had attempted to hide the drones on the deck by covering them with a tarp, but they eventually released the vessels overboard.
The Navy has increasingly integrated uncrewed capabilities into operations around Iran and the Middle East. Prior to the breakout of the US war with Iran in February 2026, the drones were mostly employed to gather intelligence and track Iranian gunboats and warships.
As fighting between the US and Iran has continued this year, American forces have used drones in other ways. In April, the Navy said underwater drones were assisting warships in clearing Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz.
And in July, the Navy used its new Saronic Corsair sea drones to attack an Iranian submarine and ship maintenance facility. The same brand of drone also rescued the crew of a downed US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter in regional waters.
