Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has seized what it describes as one of the US military’s most advanced autonomous underwater vehicles, while US Central Command has played down the significance of the capture.
The IRGC released video footage on Tuesday purportedly showing the American underwater drone, saying it was obtained during a “complex intelligence” operation.
According to the Iranian military, the vehicle is capable of carrying out missions including seabed mapping, surveillance and intelligence gathering, pipeline inspections and support for anti-submarine operations.
The footage appears to show a grey, torpedo-shaped underwater vehicle. The IRGC said it measures approximately 5.8 metres long and 1.2 metres wide, weighs about 2.7 tonnes and is capable of operating underwater for up to 10 days at depths reaching 6,000 metres.
Iran identified the vehicle as a Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle developed by US defence technology company Anduril Industries, claiming the model entered US service in April 2025.
US Central Command (CENTCOM), however, disputed Iran’s portrayal of the seizure as a significant intelligence coup, saying the vehicle was an older model that had malfunctioned and contained no sensitive equipment.
US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesman, said the drone had been conducting surveillance in regional waters but “neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment.”
The seizure comes amid another sharp escalation in tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Iran launched ballistic missiles towards US military bases in the Middle East late Tuesday, describing the strikes as retaliation for an earlier American attack on Iranian oil tankers near Kharg Island.
The IRGC also issued what it called an “urgent warning” to tanker crews around ports and anchorages in Bahrain and Kuwait, telling personnel to leave their vessels ahead of possible further attacks.
Oh no, made to look weak and ineffectual yet again! The embarrassment just keeps piling up. What a shame Iran isn’t another vulnerable little nation you can exploit, eh? Loathsome vultures.
This very good investigative report on the topic was out yesterday https://defencesecurityasia.com/en/iran-captures-us-dive-ld-underwater-drone-strait-hormuz/#google_vignette
More info on Moby-Dick catch in Hormuz including “When the Dive-LD lost signal, the US military scrambled an MQ-9 Reaper drone to locate and recover the vessel, only for Iranian air defense systems to promptly shoot down the surveillance aircraft”
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/529874/Moby-Dick-catch-in-Hormuz