The IRGC has released footage of a burning unmanned surface vessel it says belonged to the US military
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has destroyed a US Saildrone Explorer reconnaissance vessel at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, releasing footage showing the unmanned craft burning in the water.
The IRGC Navy said on Thursday that the vessel, identified by hull number 5838, was struck while operating near the strategic waterway. Iranian state media described it as an American surveillance drone, but the US military has not confirmed the loss.
“The American terrorist and aggressor army, over the past few days, out of fear of approaching and confronting the fighters of Islam, has dispatched its unmanned vessels to the Strait of Hormuz,” the IRGC said.
The Iranian Navy: We have struck a US unmanned vessel, with hull number 5838, at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/WyesLWXI47
— IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) (@iribnews_irib) September 10, 2026
The strategic waterway remains under Tehran’s control and “intelligence surveillance,” the IRGC added, warning that “any hostile presence in this strategic strait will be targeted.”
The roughly seven-meter Saildrone Explorer is an unmanned surface vessel equipped with cameras, sensors and communications systems for maritime surveillance and reconnaissance. The US Navy has previously deployed the platform with the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet’s Task Force 59, which integrates unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into regional operations.
The latest incident comes just two days after the IRGC captured a US underwater drone at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. Footage released by Tehran showed what appeared to be an Anduril-built Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle commissioned in 2025. The Pentagon acknowledged losing the submersible, but said it was old and broken and carried no sensitive data or classified equipment.
The incidents come amid an escalating maritime standoff between Washington and Tehran. The US has destroyed several Iranian oil tankers after accusing the IRGC of firing ballistic missiles at American warships, while Iran has attacked US vessels and commercial tankers it accused of violating restrictions around Hormuz.
The confrontation has severely disrupted traffic through one of the world’s most important energy corridors and pushed Brent crude above $107 a barrel, while farther west, Iran-aligned Houthi forces are tightening their grip on Bab al-Mandeb, another vital chokepoint linking the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.
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