Navy prevents Iran from taking US military drones in Arabian Gulf

The US Navy prevented an Iranian ship from capturing a US naval drone in the Arabian Gulf on Monday night.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy was in the process of towing the drone, which belongs to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet at 11:00 p.m. local time, when the US Navy immediately dispatched the coastal ship the Navy nearby USS Thunderbolt. The 5th Fleet also repeatedly called Iranian officials, who then released the drone.

“The actions of the IRGCN were egregious, unjustified and inconsistent with the behavior of a professional maritime force,” Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, 5th Fleet, said in a statement. the US Combined Maritime Forces. “U.S. naval forces remain vigilant and will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever permitted by international law while promoting a rules-based international order throughout the region.”

In addition to sending the USS Thunderbolt, the US Navy also sent an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from Marine Combat Squadron 26 based in Bahrain.

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This photo released by the U.S. Navy shows the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Ship Shahid Bazair, left, towing a U.S. Navy Saildrone Explorer in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022. The U.S. 5th Fleet The Middle East-based U.S. Navy said Tuesday that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard paramilitaries seized and then released a U.S. maritime drone in the Persian Gulf. Iran did not immediately acknowledge the incident, although it comes amid heightened tensions over Tehran’s torn nuclear deal with world powers. (US Navy via AP)

After disconnecting the tow line, the Iranian vessel, the support vessel Shahid Baziar, left the area about four hours later, the US Naval Forces Public Affairs Command Central said. The US Navy then “resumed operations without further incident.

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The marine drone, a Saildrone Explorer, did not store any sensitive or classified information, the Navy said. It was equipped with commercially available technology, including sensors, radars and cameras that the Navy said were for “navigation and data collection.”

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“The professionalism and competence of the USS Thunderbolt crew prevented Iran from this illegal action,” U.S. CENTCOM Commander Gen. Erik Kurilla said in a statement. “This incident once again demonstrates Iran’s continued destabilizing, illegal and unprofessional activity in the Middle East.”