Iranian forces say they captured a U.S. unmanned underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that its naval units captured an unmanned U.S. submarine near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. State media identified the vehicle as a Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle built by Anduril Industries, a California-based defense contractor. The six-metre-long submersible is designed for long-duration missions such as surveillance, seabed mapping and mine detection.

A Pentagon spokesperson, speaking to Reuters, confirmed the loss of the vehicle and said it had malfunctioned a day earlier. "The defective drone was an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment," the spokesperson said.

Anduril confirmed that one of its Dive-LD units was lost but described the system as "attritable," meaning it is intended for use in hazardous environments where loss is anticipated. The company noted that the platform features open interfaces for rapid integration of various sensor payloads and can operate at depths of up to 6,000 metres for up to ten days.

The incident occurs amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington, with both sides reporting recent attacks on each other's vessels and oil tankers in the strategically important waterway.