US deploys sea drone to rescue US Apache helicopter crew downed in Hormuz
Suspense Crime, Digital Desk : A US Navy drone boat has been used to rescue two US Apache helicopter crew members, shot down near Hormuz on Monday. This is the first time a US unmanned military vessel has been deployed for rescue at sea.
It is believed that the maritime drone used was the Saronic Corsair, a fully artificial intelligent and AI-powered drone surface vehicle (ASV), which is 24-foot-long and part of the Pentagon's campaign to integrate unmanned systems into the American military infrastructure.
The drone, capable of towing up to 1000 lbs at 140km/hr, is manufactured by Texas-based Saronic Technologies, and its operation is overseen by the US Navy's Task Force 59, who are developing unmanned vehicles and other drones powered by artificial intelligence. The Saronic Corsair was declared fully operational last December.
The development of drone boats and their mass production on a large scale have also been considered by Saronic Technologies who are the manufacturers of this unmanned marine vessel, and they have reportedly been awarded with a $400 million production contract for the Corsair vessels, and intend to produce more than twenty unmanned vessels a year by 2027.
It was the drone that aided the rescue of the two pilots whose Apache helicopter was shot down on a patrol in the area near Hormuz on Monday. The shoot down comes after a significant setback in the hundred-day Iran war truce and only a day after Iran and Israel traded missile attacks.
This shoot down marks a significant escalation in the conflict between the US and Iran, with US President Donald Trump claiming the helicopter was shot down by Iranians.
US launches a retaliatory strike
Following the US president's strongly worded comments on the event where he stated that the US would "have to respond", a few hours later, the US military carried out three round of air strikes against Iranian military targets in response.
US officials said that the air strikes "accurately targeted" multiple Iranian air defense and radar sites in the region of Hormuz. The Associated Press reported that loud explosions were heard across the Iranian cities of Jask and Bandar Abbas, and that further explosions were heard from areas such as Sirik and Qeshm Island in southern Iran.
Iran delivers a tough response to the US strike
Iran also responded by condemning the attack and vowed to retaliate, stating that "No attack or threat will ever go unanswered" by them. Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, told the US that it had made "the decision to test Iran's resolve".
