Iran Claims to Have Seized Second U.S. Underwater Drone in Strait of Hormuz

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy has claimed to have seized a U.S. REMUS 600 UUV in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian media outlet IRIB reported this, citing a statement by the IRGC Navy.

According to the Iranian side, the UUV was detected while conducting a reconnaissance mission in the Strait of Hormuz.
The IRGC said the seizure operation was conducted using intelligence capabilities and electronic warfare systems.

After being seized, the REMUS 600 UUV was handed over to Iranian specialists, who are expected to examine the vehicle and attempt to retrieve information from its storage systems. The Iranian side also released video footage of the captured vehicle.

The United States has not officially confirmed the loss of this particular vehicle or disclosed the circumstances of its seizure.

REMUS 600

The REMUS 600 is an autonomous uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) developed in the United States. It was designed as a multipurpose platform for underwater missions, including reconnaissance, seafloor mapping, mine detection and classification, oceanographic data collection and the search for underwater objects.

The REMUS 600 can operate at depths of up to 600 meters. Underwater navigation is carried out autonomously using an inertial navigation system, Doppler velocity log and acoustic navigation, while GPS can be used after the vehicle surfaces.

According to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the REMUS 600 can remain operational for about 70 hours and has a range of up to 286 nautical miles.

The Iranian side said the vehicle’s recorded routes, sonar data, navigation parameters and other information that may have remained in its memory could be of particular value.

This is the second case in September in which Iran has claimed to have seized a U.S. UUV. On September 8, the IRGC Navy reported the seizure of a Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle made by Anduril near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. side then confirmed the loss of the vehicle, but said it had malfunctioned before falling into the hands of Iranian forces and did not contain classified equipment.

In July, U.S. Central Command used maritime kamikaze drones for the first time to strike Iranian military targets.