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First Sea Drone Combat
The U.S. military used one-way attack sea drones in combat for the first time on Sunday, striking a submarine and ship maintenance facility at the Bandar Abbas Naval Base on Iran’s coast in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command said.
CBS News reported that CENTCOM released a video showing three small sea drones speeding toward a raised dock that appeared to be holding a small submarine and then exploding, with the last blast shown appearing to cause a large fire.
France 24 said the U.S. unleashed the new weapon when black-and-white footage posted by US Central Command (CENTCOM) showed three unmanned boats surging through the water toward what the U.S. military alleged was a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Bandar Abbas.
The Hill said the U.S. military utilized three Corsair unmanned surface vessels to strike a ship maintenance facility and a submarine at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, the headquarters of the Iranian Navy, during Sunday’s fresh round of strikes.
CENTCOM said the strikes “degraded Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial shipping,” a line repeated by both The Hill and CBS News.
Tech, Makers, and Claims
CBS News identified the drones as Corsair autonomous service vehicles from Saronic, saying Saronic’s 24-foot Corsair was used in the attacks and that CENTCOM also said Corsair drones were used.
In a statement posted on social media, Saronic said, “We are proud that our technology supported this mission and helped to keep the brave men and women of the U.S. armed forces safe,” while CENTCOM spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins told CBS News, “Quickly equipping our warfighters with cutting-edge capabilities enhances combat effectiveness.”
The Jerusalem Post said CENTCOM announced that “multiple one-way attack surface drones” successfully struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility, and that “Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base.”
Stars and Stripes described the same Sunday strike as the first U.S. use in battle of vessels that have revolutionized maritime warfare from the Black Sea to the Middle East, and said the Corsair is a 24-foot autonomous surface drone.
France 24 added that Bandar Abbas is “home to the country’s largest container terminal and responsible for more than half its maritime traffic,” framing the port as a prime target for U.S. military action.
Blockade and Wider Stakes
France 24 said the U.S. reimposed a naval blockade on Iran’s ports and that U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to target civilian infrastructure—including bridges and power plants—if Tehran didn’t come back to the negotiating table.
DefenseScoop reported that the operation was part of a recently completed “new wave of offensive strikes” aimed at degrading Iran’s ability to continue attacking international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and said CENTCOM also used one-way aerial drones during the assaults.
The Jerusalem Post said CENTCOM had struck Iranian military air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats using “US fighter aircraft, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones, and one-way attack sea drones for the first time,” expanding the scope beyond the port strike.
El Mundo said the assault foreshadows what is to come as fighting resumes after the failure of peace negotiations with Tehran, and it described the unmanned-boat operation as a milestone for CENTCOM chief Admiral Brad Cooper.
In the same reporting, El Mundo quoted Cynthia Cook, a naval drones expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), saying maritime drone attacks have been promoted largely by Ukraine, which has sought to revolutionize naval warfare in the same way that unmanned aerial vehicles have transformed the skies.
