Iran Captures U.S. Drone Submarine Near Strategic Waterway
On Tuesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced the seizure of an unmanned U.S. submarine near the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting the use of underwater drones in military strategies.
The captured drone, identified by Iranian media as the Dive-LD, is an autonomous underwater vehicle manufactured by the defense company Anduril based in California. This 19-foot submersible is designed for various tasks such as counter-mine activities, seabed surveys, intelligence collection, and checking underwater structures like cables and pipelines, according to the manufacturer.
The Revolutionary Guards’ naval forces described the drone as “one of the most sophisticated and intelligent unmanned submarines from the terrorist American military,” capturing it at the strategic entry point to the Strait of Hormuz. The statement emphasized that the drone was outfitted with cutting-edge technology.
In a counter statement, a Pentagon spokesperson mentioned that the drone had experienced a malfunction over a day prior to the incident. The spokesperson elaborated that the drone was engaged in routine surveillance of regional waters to support ongoing missions and clarified that the malfunctioned drone was an older model, which neither had capabilities to collect sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment.
While Iran’s claims remain unverified by independent sources and were not directly addressed in the Pentagon’s response, the situation highlights the growing focus on unmanned naval technology by the U.S. military.
Anduril, the creator of the Dive-LD, has not commented on the incident as of now.
The U.S. military continues to invest in unmanned naval technologies, which include both underwater and surface drones. The objective is to develop cost-effective solutions for extensive oceanic monitoring, intelligence gathering, and tracking of enemy vessels and submarines, thereby reducing risks to human crews.
According to information on Anduril’s website, the Dive-LD can operate autonomously for up to 10 days without needing to return to base and is capable of diving to depths up to 6,000 meters (nearly 19,700 feet). As reported by the DefenseScoop in 2024, each unit of Dive-LD costs around $2.5 million.
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Jamal Peterson reports on defense, aerospace, and tech policy. With a military background and a strategic mind, he dissects complex subjects with clarity, offering readers sharp, reliable insights.
