The United States has targeted Iranian naval facilities using kamikaze drones.
The series of attacks over the weekend marked the first time the US military used uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) as strike weapons in combat.
According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM),three Saronic Corsair drone boats struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility at Bandar Abbas Naval Base on 12 July as part of wider operations against what it described as ‘dozens’ of Iranian targets.
Footage captures the kamikaze drone speeding through the sea before it struck Iranian facilities (Picture:: US Centcom/Cover Images)
The announcement comes amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz,the strategic waterway through which a significant proportion of the world’s oil shipments pass.
US president Donald Trump has claimed the the country will extract fees from those transiting the strait,as Iran has done since the beginning of hostilities earlier this year.
The drone strike caused major damage to Iranian naval bases (Picture: US Centcom/Cover Images)In a statement posted on Facebook,CENTCOM said: ‘Yesterday,using multiple one-way attack surface drones,CENTCOM forces successfully struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Iran.‘Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base,marking the first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations. Last night’s strikes degraded Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial shipping.’
The operation marks the latest development in the US Navy’s increasing use of uncrewed vessels in operational roles (Picture: US Centcom/Cover Images)The operation marks the latest development in the US Navy’s increasing use of uncrewed vessels in operational roles.Last month,a Saronic Corsair USV was used to help rescue the crew of a US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter that crashed in the Gulf of Oman after the aircraft was reportedly brought down during hostilities with Iran.Military officials described it as the first known use of a drone boat to recover personnel during a search-and-rescue mission.