Navy Drone Ship Nearly Captured by Iran During 5th Fleet Encounter

[Boats]

Navy Drone Ship Nearly Captured by Iran During 5th Fleet Encounter
By: Konstantin Toropin - Military.com News - 08-30-22
Re: https://www.military.com/daily-news/...al-drones.html

Photo link: https://images01.military.com/sites/...?itok=S9bfW_IH
This photo released by the U.S. Navy shows the Iranian Revolutionary Guard ship Shahid Bazair, left, towing a U.S. Navy Saildrone Explorer in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022. (U.S. Navy via AP)

[Option: Go to main link and push the key to: Listen to this article:]

The Navy says that its ships have foiled an Iranian attempt to make off with one of its new unmanned sailing ships in the Arabian Gulf.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Navy said that it spotted a support ship from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy towing a Saildrone Explorer -- a drone ship that can remain at sea for long stretches -- at around 11 p.m. Monday night local time. In response, the Navy dispatched a patrol coastal ship, the USS Thunderbolt, and a MH-60S Seahawk helicopter from a squadron based in Bahrain.

"The actions taken by U.S. naval forces in response resulted in the [Iranian] vessel disconnecting the towing line to the [Saildrone] and departing the area approximately four hours later," the Navy said before adding that they "resumed operations without further incident."

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of the Navy's 5th Fleet, said the Iranian's "actions were flagrant, unwarranted and inconsistent with the behavior of a professional maritime force."

The Saildrone itself is a small 23-foot-long vessel that moves along under a combination of wind and solar power. According to its manufacturer, it can stay at sea for more than a year and be equipped with a range of atmospheric and ocean sensors.

The Navy announced that it was starting to operate the vessels in the Arabian Gulf in late January though it offered little detail as to the craft's mission other than to say it "houses a package of sensors powered through solar energy for building a shared picture of the surrounding seas."

In its most recent statement, the Navy noted the Saildrone was "equipped with sensors, radars and cameras for navigation and data collection."

"This technology is available commercially and does not store sensitive or classified information," the Navy added.

The Navy currently operates only a handful of unmanned ships in various sizes, but its leaders have regularly discussed plans to grow the number of drones in the fleet to around 150 ships by 2045.

The incident highlights a problem that unmanned ships, many of which are largely unprotected, may face in the region as their use by the U.S. Navy grows. That problem may also become more significant as the Navy retires the last of its patrol ships -- the class of ship that quickly responded to the hijacking. In 2021, Navy leaders said they would not be replacing the patrol ships and would instead look to littoral combat ships to take over their mission in the area.

Since that time, however, the Navy has also said it wants to decommission nine littoral combat ships in an effort to make room in the budget for other modernization efforts.

"U.S. naval forces remain vigilant and will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows while promoting rules-based international order throughout the region," Cooper said.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

Related: Navy Leader Floats Idea of Selling Troubled Littoral Combat Ships to South America

Related Topics: Military Headlines - Global Hot Spots - US Navy Topics - Iran - Drones - Military - Technology
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Personal note: To me the ship went in without escorts? This is is not copasetic
not having some sort of escorts - Or? did it have eyes in the sky? Abit risky if
you ask me (but you didn't). They would've loved to capture that vessel and
take its cargo as well as the these drone ships. Better get a new plan together
it seems they knew about it's location - hmm. Opt's better come up with a
new game plan.
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[Boats]

An Iranian ship snatched 2 US Navy drone boats and tried to hide them under a tarp before eventually releasing them overboard: By - US official's
By: Jack Epstein - Insider News - 2 hrs ago 09-02-22
Re: https://www.businessinsider.com/iran...er-tarp-2022-9

Photo link: https://i.insider.com/63121df33fe7c4...jpeg&auto=webp
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In this frame grabed from Iranian state television, Iranian navy sailors throw an American sea drone overboard in the Red Sea on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. Iranian state television via AP
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[Note: This report was updated from my earlier post - above (Boats)].

* An Iranian ship snatched two US Navy drone boats from the Red Sea on Friday, a US official said.

* Iran's Navy tried to hide the drones under a tarp, initially denying it had them before ultimately returning them.

* It's the second incident this week where an Iran-linked boat has attempted to seize US drone boats.

An Iranian ship seized two US Navy drone boats on Friday and tried to hide them from US air assets by putting them under a tarp. The Iranians eventually released them overboard following intervention by the US military, a US official told Insider, confirming earlier reporting.

The Iranian destroyer Jamaran captured the two drones and pulled them out of the water in the Red Sea and then examined them on deck, the Associated Press reported, citing state television footage.

A US official told Insider that the Navy received indications from the drones that they had been seized and responded to the incident by sending ships to establish bridge-to-bridge communications with the Iranian vessel. When the Iranians noticed a US helicopter in the air, sailors on the Jamaran tried to hide the US unmanned assets under a tarp, the official said.

After initially denying that it was in possession of US property, the Iranian naval vessel acknowledged having them and agreed to return them, putting them back in the water by releasing them overboard, the official said.

The official referred to the sea drones as "sail drones," an apparent reference to Saildrone Explorers — commercially-available unmanned surface vessels that are equipped with cameras, senors, and radars to collect data that the Navy uses.

Iranian state television claimed the country's navy found the drones "abandoned in the international maritime routes," the AP reported.

Friday's incident is the second this week that involved an Iran-linked ship trying to capture with US Navy property in international waters.

On Tuesday, the US Navy successfully prevented Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from trying to capture a Saildrone Explorer in the Persian Gulf.

US Naval Forces Central Command said the IRGC support ship Shahid Baziar was seen towing the unmanned surface vessel "in an attempt to detain it." US Navy coastal patrol ship USS Thunderbolt and an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter were dispatched to the area in response. The IRGC ship disconnected the tow line and left.

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, US 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, slammed the IRGC's actions earlier this week as "flagrant, unwarranted, and inconsistent with the behavior of a professional maritime force."

IRGC boats have had previous run-ins with the US Navy and Coast Guard, sometimes sailing dangerously close. In response, the military has fired warning shots and sent radio warnings.

By: Ryan Pickrell contributed reporting.
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Personal note: I'm surprised we didn't have a self-destruct device - if tampered with -
before allowing it to be hauled out? I'm sure their operation and course were sent by satillite -
and it could have also received a self-destruction command - if bordered?
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[But this only my speculation.]
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Whatever software they had on board was probably what they were looking for -
again - this is purely only speculation on my end.
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