Overview
- An AH-64 Apache went down near the Strait of Hormuz and two crew members spent about two hours in the water before a Saronic Corsair unmanned surface vessel picked them up and moved them to a helicopter; both are in stable condition.
- CENTCOM said the rescue, carried out by the U.S. Navy’s Task Force 59, is the first publicly known U.S. personnel recovery by an autonomous surface vessel remotely piloted by humans.
- U.S. officials reported the helicopter was struck or collided with an Iranian drone, President Trump accused Iran of downing the Apache and ordered retaliatory strikes that U.S. forces reported were underway while an official investigation continues.
- The Corsair is a 24-foot diesel USV built by Saronic Technologies that can reach about 35 knots, carry roughly 1,000 pounds and operate over 1,000 nautical miles, and the company holds a reported multi‑hundred million dollar production contract with the Navy.
- The episode highlights growing operational use of sea drones for high-risk missions and also exposes limits—medical care at the pickup site, communications jamming risks and maintenance in harsh seas—that will shape how the Navy scales these systems.