Conflict & Security
US sea drone targeted in Hormuz, Iran Guards say
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Thursday that their navy targeted a US unmanned surface vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Guards said in a statement carried by their Sepah news outlet that the vessel was a Saildrone Explorer-type sea drone. The statement appeared under a headline saying a US Saildrone had been destroyed in the Strait of Hormuz, but the Guards' quoted statement said it had been targeted.
The Revolutionary Guards said the drone had been used in the region by the US Fifth Fleet, which is stationed in Bahrain.
Washington has previously used Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessels to gather data and images in the Gulf. The sea drones are powered by solar and wind energy and can be deployed at sea for up to one year.
Iran said Wednesday that it had captured an unmanned US submarine drone. The US military said one of its underwater drones had malfunctioned.
Uncertainty notes
The supplied material does not include a US response to the alleged targeting of the unmanned surface vessel.
The Guards' statement said the vessel was targeted, while the Sepah headline described its destruction; the extent of any damage is not independently confirmed in the supplied material.
Source
AFP news report published on .