US Navy claims stopping Iran's trial to seize unmanned vessel in Gulf
The US Navy claims to have thwarted an Iranian attempt to capture an unmanned vessel in the Gulf, and the Iranian military did not respond to these claims yet.
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The alleged IRGC ship towing the US Navy Saildrone Explorer uncrewed surface vessel (USV) August 30, 2022 (screengrab from footage released by US navy)
In a statement on Tuesday, the US Central Command Naval Forces alleged that the US Navy prevented an Iranian Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) ship from capturing an unmanned surface vessel operating in the Gulf.
"While transiting international waters around 11 p.m. (local time), Aug. 29, US 5th Fleet observed IRGCN support ship Shahid Baziar towing a Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessel (USV) in an attempt to detain it. US Navy patrol coastal ship USS Thunderbolt (PC 12) was operating nearby and immediately responded. US 5th Fleet also launched an MH-60S Sea Hawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26, based in Bahrain," the statement said.
فيديو حصري حلصت عليه #إيران_بالعربية يظهر سفينة الدعم #شهيد_بازيار التابعة لبحرية الحرس الثوري الإيراني وهي تسحب سفينة أميركية من طراز Saildrone Explorer في المياه الدولية للخليج الفارسي. pic.twitter.com/KWVWF43tJi
— إيران بالعربية (@iraninarabic_ir) August 30, 2022
This resulted in the IRGCN vessel disconnecting the towing line and leaving the area, after which the US warships resumed their operations without further incident, the statement said.
The unmanned surface vessel that Iran allegedly tried to seize is equipped with sensors, cameras, radars, and other data collection technologies, but they are commercially available and do not store classified information, as per the statement.
***BREAKING***#Iran's IRGC attempted to take a US Navy Saildrone Explorer uncrewed surface vessel (USV)
— H I Sutton (@CovertShores) August 30, 2022
US Navy patrol boat, USS Thunderbolt (PC 12), intervened. Tow released.
Nod @ryankakiuchan pic.twitter.com/lrDdZ6RWLj
The Iranian military did not respond to these claims yet.
This comes in light of the continued growth of Iranian naval capabilities, as the Iranian armed forces and IRGC periodically reveal the introduction of new equipment and technologies on its naval fleet.
