File: An Iranian Revolutionary Guards boat at an undisclosed location off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran, August 2019.
Nazanin Tabatabay | Wana | Reuters
The U.S. military said Tuesday that an unmanned submarine allegedly seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz was “defective” and contained no sensitive data or equipment.
“An underwater drone operated by the U.S. military malfunctioned over a day ago,” U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins told CNBC in a statement shared with U.S. Central Command.
Hawkins said the drone was “scouting regional waters in support of ongoing operations,” adding that “U.S. operations in regional waters continue.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards boasted earlier on Tuesday that it had trapped and captured “one of the most modern and intelligent unmanned submarines of the US terrorist force at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz,” according to a translated article in Iran’s state news agency Fars.
Fahls later posted videos and images purporting to show the ship emerging from the water.
But Hawkins’ statement maintained that drones are not a significant part of cutting-edge military technology.
“The defective drone was an older model, did not collect sensitive data, and was not equipped with sensitive sonar or radar equipment,” the pilot’s statement said.
Iranian media described the submarine as the Dive LD, an autonomous underwater vehicle developed by US defense contractor Anduril. DefenseScoop reported in 2024 that the price tag for each was $2.5 million.
The incident comes three days after the United States and Iran exchanged fresh attacks in the Persian Gulf, rekindling bitter hostilities in the region even as the Trump administration shifts strategy toward defeating Iran economically.
The United States announced that it had attacked three Iranian crude oil carriers in retaliation for the Revolutionary Guard’s firing of ballistic missiles at two naval warships.
This spotlight on watercraft marks the latest example of the U.S. military’s increasing reliance on self-driving technology to fight wars in the Middle East.
This summer, unmanned boat startup Saronic used its drone ship to rescue a crew member from a crashed helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz. Saronich’s boats were later used in attacks on Iranian submarines and shipping facilities.
—CNBC’s Samantha Subin contributed to this report.
