Iran seizes US underwater drone in Strait of Hormuz amid regional tensions

Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized a US Navy Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle, manufactured by Anduril Industries, at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz on September 8, 2026. While Iranian state media boasts of capturing a highly advanced intelligence asset, US Central Command and the Pentagon dismiss the vessel as an older, unclassified model that had already malfunctioned and was "dead in the water." The incident escalates maritime tensions surrounding Iran's ongoing blockade of the strategic waterway.

Iran seizes US Dive-LD drone

• ▪The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps described the captured Dive-LD submarine as a highly advanced, modern, and smart vessel delivered to the US military fleet in 2025.
• ▪Iranian state media identified the captured US unmanned underwater vehicle as a Dive-LD, an autonomous submarine manufactured by California-based defense firm Anduril Industries.
• ▪Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on September 8, 2026, that its naval forces seized an American unmanned underwater vehicle at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.

US claims drone malfunction

• ▪A Pentagon spokesperson stated that the US underwater drone had malfunctioned more than a day before Iran's seizure while surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations.
• ▪US Central Command spokesperson Navy Captain Tim Hawkins stated that the drone was an older model that was essentially dead in the water, carrying no sensitive data or classified equipment.
• ▪An Anduril Industries spokesperson confirmed the loss of the Dive-LD vessel but downplayed its significance, stating the system is designed to be attritable for dangerous environments.

Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle

• ▪The Dive-LD is designed for missions including mine countermeasures, seabed mapping, intelligence gathering, and the inspection of submarine cables and pipelines.
• ▪According to a 2024 report by DefenseScoop, each Anduril Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle costs approximately $2.5 million.
• ▪The Dive-LD is a 19-foot autonomous underwater vehicle weighing approximately three tons that can operate for up to 10 days and dive to depths of 6,000 meters.

Strait of Hormuz blockade

• ▪Iran plans to charge transit fees from vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz to fund environmental protection services, a policy that the United States opposes.
• ▪Iran has maintained a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz since a Middle East war broke out in late February 2026, while the US has imposed a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

Previous US-Iran drone incidents

• ▪In September 2022, the Iranian destroyer Jamaran captured two US Navy drone boats in the Red Sea before releasing them after the US dispatched guided-missile destroyers and a helicopter.
• ▪In July 2026, the US Navy used Saronic Corsair sea drones to attack an Iranian maintenance facility and rescue the crew of a downed US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter.