CENTCOM Says Seized US Underwater Drone Carried No Classified Equipment
A US Central Command spokesperson said the autonomous underwater vehicle had malfunctioned more than a day earlier and carried neither sensitive data nor classified sonar or radar equipment.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - A US underwater drone seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Strait of Hormuz had malfunctioned more than a day before it was captured and was an older model that carried no sensitive data or classified sonar or radar equipment, a US Central Command spokesperson said Tuesday.
Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesperson for US Central Command (CENTCOM), made the remarks in a statement to NewsNation on Tuesday, following reports that the IRGC had captured a US autonomous underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz.
“An underwater drone operated by US forces malfunctioned more than a day ago. It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations. The defective drone was an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment. US operations in area waters continue,” Hawkins told NewsNation.
A US official also confirmed to Reuters that the unmanned underwater vehicle had malfunctioned and was an older model, emphasizing that it carried no sensitive equipment related to radar or sonar.
The official said the technical problem had occurred more than a day earlier but did not disclose the drone’s specific location, the nature of the technical malfunction or its current status.
IRGC says it seized US underwater drone
The IRGC said earlier Tuesday that its naval forces had seized a US unmanned submarine at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz during what it described as a “complex intelligence and operational action” carried out at dawn.
According to a statement broadcast on Iranian state television, Iran said the unmanned submarine was among the most advanced US underwater systems and had been delivered to the US fleet in 2025.
Iranian media reported that the underwater vehicle was capable of conducting underwater reconnaissance and surveillance, mapping the seabed, detecting mines, and inspecting submarine cables and pipelines.
The IRGC said images of the captured vessel would be released in the coming hours.
Iran has maintained a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz since the war broke out in late February. The strategically vital waterway normally carries around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas exports.
The United States has imposed a counter-blockade targeting Iranian ports.
Tehran has also said it intends to impose fees on vessels transiting the Strait to help fund services including environmental protection, a move strongly opposed by Washington.
Against that backdrop, the US military said its operations in the area’s waters were continuing, while stressing that the seized underwater drone was an older model that had malfunctioned and did not carry sensitive or classified equipment.