US military used autonomous sea drones in strike on Iranian shipyard, Centcom says

BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. Central Command said it used one-way autonomous surface vessels for the first time in a strike on an Iranian ship maintenance facility, targeting the port city of Bandar Abbas two days ago. Released footage shows the unmanned craft striking what appears to be a decommissioned Iranian submarine. The vessels were built by Texas-based Saronic Technologies, which confirmed on social media that the model used was its Corsair. The company said the craft is roughly 7.3 meters long, has a top speed of about 65 kilometers per hour and an operational range exceeding 1,600 kilometers. According to Saronic, the same vehicle was deployed in June to rescue two downed American pilots. The strike marks the U.S. military's first offensive operation with the platform, though autonomous surface drones have become a defining feature of modern naval warfare. Ukraine has used such craft extensively against Russia and operates 24 different models. A February report by the Carnegie Mellon Journal of Policy and Law found that Ukrainian autonomous sea drones sank or damaged 19 Russian warships over the past three years.