USA has used a naval drone loaded with explosives in combat for the first time. Three autonomous vessels Corsair During the night of July 12, they attacked a submarine and ship maintenance facilities located at the Iranian naval base in Bandar Abbastogether with the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
He United States Central CommandCENTCOM, for its acronym in English, described the operation as the first in which US forces have used maritime drones in combat. Unmanned surface vessels, USVs, were configured as one-way attack weaponsthe military name for kamikaze vehicles that transport their explosive charge to the target and are destroyed when detonated.
Yesterday, using multiple one-way attack surface drones, CENTCOM forces successfully struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Iran. Three unmanned Corsair surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, marking the first time American forces have employed sea… pic.twitter.com/bOM2kmgRxz
— US Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 13, 2026
Images released by CENTCOM show the three Corsairs approaching the port from different points before exploding. The approach took place at low speed and without apparent opposition. One of the objectives seems to be an Iranian Ghadir-class submarine which was out of the water, suspended from a lifting structure within the facilities.
The video does not allow us to determine the final extent of the damage because it ends immediately after the explosions. CENTCOM assures that the attack reduced Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial maritime trafficalthough it has not explained what defensive systems it had to overcome or what degree of autonomy the drones used during the operation.
Saronic Technologies’ Corsair naval drone
The Corsair has been developed by Saronic Technologiesan American defense company specializing in autonomous surface vessels. Measure 7.3 meters in length and can carry a payload of up to 454 kilos. Its autonomy exceeds 1,800 kilometerswhile its maximum speed exceeds 34 knotsequivalent to about 64km/h.
Its modular architecture allows installing sensors, surveillance equipment or other loads adapted to each mission. In this case, the three vehicles were equipped with explosives and used as kamikaze drones, although the Corsair was not designed solely for this purpose.
Saronic assures that the system can navigate through adaptive route planning, identify and track targets with passive sensors, and coordinate with other platforms. It also has multichannel communications designed to operate alongside manned and unmanned units. The company attributes its artificial intelligence software mission-level autonomy capabilities and coordination between multiple vehicles. It has not been detailed, however, what decisions the three Corsairs that participated in the attack made for themselves.
The design offers several advantages over a manned speedboat. Its scope allows throw it away from the targetcan remain for long periods in one area and avoids exposing sailors during final approach. The loss of the vehicle is part of the mission itselfso it can be sent against ports, ships or coastal installations that would be too dangerous for a conventional unit.
The coordinated use of several vessels also opens different avenues of attack and forces the enemy to simultaneously monitor several sectors. A larger group could be used to saturate the defenses of a port or a warship, following a tactic similar to the swarm attacks that Iran has tested for years with manned speedboats, as explained by Interesting Engineering.
The attack occurred during a new escalation of the war started on February 28, 2026 with the operations of the United States and Israel against Iran. After the deterioration of the ceasefire, both sides have once again exchanged attacks around the Strait of Hormuz, an essential route for international oil transport.
The US has already used a Corsair for the first rescue at sea carried out by a naval drone
The operation would not have been carried out by the Task Force 59an operational unit of the Fifth Fleet specialized in unmanned maritime systems, despite what was initially published by some media. A US Defense official told USNI News that it was a CENTCOM operation and that was not led by the Navy. Task Force 59 is in charge of testing and integrating unmanned maritime systems in the Middle East.
A Corsair operated by this unit had already carried out another unprecedented mission a few weeks before. On June 8, one of these boats participated in the rescue of the two crew members of a US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter shot down by an Iranian Shahed drone off the coast of Oman. The vehicle located and recovered the pilots in what the United States described as the first autonomous search and rescue operation of its kind. In this case, the operation was carried out by Task Force 59.
The United States is not the first country to employ kamikaze naval drones. The Yemen Houthis They attacked the Saudi frigate in January 2017 Al Madinah with an unmanned vessel loaded with explosives, probably developed with Iranian assistance.
Ukraine In recent years, it has turned these systems into a central piece of its naval war against Russia. Its maritime drones have attacked ships, oil tankers and bases of the Black Sea Fleetin addition to serving as platforms to launch missiles, deploy aerial drones and even transport unmanned ground vehicles. Now, a technology initially promoted by forces with fewer resources is already part of the offensive operations of one of the greatest military powers in the world..