A US sea drone has successfully rescued two crew members from a downed US Army helicopter off the coast of Oman, in what is believed to be the first publicly known instance of an unmanned vessel performing such a rescue. The incident, confirmed by US Central Command (Centcom), involved a 'Corsair' sea drone, manufactured by a Texas-based company, retrieving the soldiers within approximately two hours.
The Apache helicopter, which former President Donald Trump claimed was shot down by Iran near the Strait of Hormuz, necessitated a swift response in the strategically sensitive waterway. The two service members were reported to be in stable condition following their rescue. BBC Verify's examination of the mission revealed that the Corsair, a vessel roughly the size of a fishing boat with a flat deck, is typically equipped with a 360-degree camera, radar for navigation, and an electronic radio sensor for intelligence gathering.
Naval drone expert Bryan Clark of the Hudson Institute described the Corsair as capable of holding three to four people. Dr Stacie Pettyjohn, a US military expert at the Center for a New American Security, noted that the US Navy possesses around 50 of these vessels, primarily using them for mine detection or surveillance. She explained that the Navy is still experimenting with the fleet's capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz.
Operated by Task Force 59, the US Navy's dedicated unmanned systems unit established in 2021, the sea drone was deployed to the Middle East in March as part of the Pentagon's wider strategy to expand drone usage. While the Corsair can operate autonomously, experts suggest it was likely manually controlled during the rescue to ensure precise positioning. Centcom spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins attributed the drone's use to "proximity and capability factors," highlighting its suitability for "dirty, dangerous missions" where sending in manned ships or helicopters could expose personnel to risk.
The US service members were picked up at around 03:30 local time and transported to another location on the water before being hoisted to a helicopter for further transfer. The deployment and successful rescue underscore the growing role of unmanned maritime systems, a development partly influenced by innovations observed in conflicts such as the war in Ukraine, where smaller, jet ski-sized drones have been utilised.