US uses lethal Saronic Corsair sea drones in combat for first time strike Iranian submarine Bandar Abbas CENTCOM
US forces used lethal sea drones in combat for the first time, CENTCOM says. Three Saronic Corsair one-way attack vessels struck an Iranian pier at Bandar Abbas near the Strait of Hormuz on July 12, hitting a Ghadir-class midget submarine. Source: CENTCOM via USNI News.
US forces have used lethal sea drones in combat for the first time, according to US Central Command. Three Saronic Corsair one-way attack surface vessels struck an Iranian pier at Bandar Abbas, near the Strait of Hormuz, on July 12, hitting what appears to be a Ghadir-class midget submarine suspended from a gantry. The Corsair is a 24-foot autonomous surface vessel with a top speed of about 35 knots, a 1,000-pound payload and a range of 1,000 nautical miles. All of its computing and software run onboard, so it can receive a mission and carry it out without a remote operator. CENTCOM confirmed the strike on July 13. The milestone follows extensive combat use of similar drone boats by Ukrainian forces in the Black Sea and by the Houthis in the Red Sea. For naval planners, it signals that cheap, expendable autonomous craft are now part of the US strike toolkit, not just an adversary tactic. Source: US Central Command, reported by USNI News and CBS News.