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WASHINGTON: Iran\u2019s capture of a US military underwater drone gives Tehran an opportunity \u200bto study and potentially reverse engineer the vessel, delivering a setback for the Pentagon and drone maker Anduril.<\/p>\n
The US military and Anduril have downplayed the significance of the drone falling into Iranian hands. The vessel, a Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle designed for long-range surveillance and other undersea missions, is among a new generation of military drones intended to operate for days with little human intervention. Washington has previously treated the loss of advanced drones to Iran as a serious matter.<\/p>\n
After Iran captured an RQ-170 Sentinel stealth reconnaissance drone in 2011, then-President Barack Obama publicly asked Tehran to return the aircraft. Iran later \u200cclaimed it had reverse-engineered \u200cthe drone and subsequently unveiled domestically produced models that appeared to \u200bdraw \u200cheavily \u2060on its \u200bdesign.<\/p>\n
More recently, \u2060the US military moved swiftly to prevent Iranian forces from taking possession of uncrewed maritime technology. In 2022, a US Navy patrol ship and MH-60S Seahawk helicopter were deployed after an Iranian naval vessel attempted to tow away a Saildrone surface vessel in the Gulf, according to the Navy.<\/p>\n
Analysts say Iran is unlikely to gain a decisive military advantage from the captured drone, but the episode nonetheless represents a propaganda victory for Tehran and an awkward setback for Washington\u2019s efforts to project technological superiority.<\/p>\n
IRANIAN EMBASSIES MOCK US<\/strong><\/p>\n Iranian embassies around the \u2060world have mocked the US for losing its drone. Iran\u2019s embassy in \u200cGhana, in a post on X, boasted about picking the \u200csubmersible up in \u201ca strait controlled by people who can hear a \u200bshrimp sneeze,\u201d adding that, \u201cOur guys picked it up \u200clike a plastic bottle in a fishing net. Fully intact. Still blinking like an idiot. Condolences \u200cto whoever was holding the joystick.\u201d<\/p>\n Anduril and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course Iran will take every opportunity as a propaganda win,\u201d said Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. \u201cIt can help the (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) make better versions of their own designs.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran will almost certainly try \u200cto pry open the drone\u2019s hardware, but the drone\u2019s software carries built-in defenses, said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow and director of the Center \u2060for Defense Concepts and Technology \u2060at the Hudson Institute. Iranian engineers \u201ccould definitely reverse-engineer the mechanical systems,\u201d he said, pointing to Tehran\u2019s track record with captured American aircraft.<\/p>\n \u201cUnboxing ceremony by our reverse engineers, tomorrow morning!\u201d Iran\u2019s embassy in Hyderabad wrote on X.<\/p>\n The incident has also highlighted a disconnect between the messaging of Anduril and its customer, the US Navy.<\/p>\n Navy officials said the Dive-LD was an older-model vehicle that suffered a malfunction and was recovered by Iranian forces after being left \u201cdead in the water.\u201d<\/p>\n Anduril has promoted the Dive-LD as \u201cthe most reliable and flexible\u201d large autonomous underwater vehicle available, saying it is capable of operating for up to 10 days in demanding conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is something that Iran has proven very adept at exploiting for its own benefit in terms of seeking to frame the narrative as one of US, in this case, ineptitude \u200band their ability to sort of retain control \u200bover the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d said Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n