To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to an online
browser that
supports HTML5
video
America has targeted Iranian naval facilities using kamikaze drones.
The series of attacks over the weekend marked the primary time the US military used uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) as strike weapons in combat.
In keeping with the US Central Command (CENTCOM), three Saronic Corsair drone boats struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility at Bandar Abbas Naval Base on 12 July as a part of wider operations against what it described as ‘dozens’ of Iranian targets.
The announcement comes amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which a major proportion of the world’s oil shipments pass.
US president Donald Trump has claimed the the country will extract fees from those transiting the strait, as Iran has done because the starting of hostilities earlier this yr.
Join for all of the most recent stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
In an announcement posted on Facebook, CENTCOM said: ‘Yesterday, using multiple one-way attack surface drones, CENTCOM forces successfully struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Iran.
‘Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, marking the primary time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations. Last night’s strikes degraded Iran’s ability to proceed attacking industrial shipping.’
The operation marks the most recent development within the US Navy’s increasing use of uncrewed vessels in operational roles.
Last month, a Saronic Corsair USV was used to assist rescue the crew of a US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter that crashed within the Gulf of Oman after the aircraft was reportedly brought down during hostilities with Iran.
Military officials described it as the primary known use of a drone boat to recuperate personnel during a search-and-rescue mission.
MORE: ‘My dad wouldn’t have been kidnapped if the IRGC were proscribed as terrorists sooner’
MORE: Trump warned of Iranian plot to kill him in Turkey prompted President to change planes
MORE: The three groups now labelled a threat to the UK’s national security