Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says its naval forces captured a US Dive-LD unmanned submarine near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. Washington has not issued a full official statement, but a Pentagon spokesperson said the vessel had malfunctioned a day earlier and described it as an older, defective drone that carried no sensitive data or classified sonar or radar equipment.
What happened near the Strait of Hormuz
The IRGC said on Tuesday that its naval forces had “trapped” the vessel in what it called a complex intelligence and operational operation at dawn. Iranian state media identified it as a Dive-LD and said the system had been delivered to the US fleet in 2025.
The Pentagon spokesperson said the submersible had been sent to survey regional waters in support of ongoing operations. Anduril confirmed the loss of one of its vessels but said the platform was designed to operate in dangerous environments where loss could occur. For additional context, see “What the latest US-Iran tanker attacks mean for the Strait of Hormuz”.
Key points
- Dive-LD is an autonomous underwater vehicle made by California-based Anduril Industries.
- The platform is about six metres (20ft) long and is designed for surveillance, seabed mapping and mine detection.
- Anduril lists a maximum depth of 6,000 metres (19,700ft) and endurance of up to 10 days.
- The company describes the system as attritable, meaning it is built for dangerous missions where losing the vehicle is an expected possibility.
What the Dive-LD is designed to do
Dive-LD is a reusable, large autonomous underwater vehicle that can carry different sensors and mission packages. Anduril says its open software, mechanical and electrical interfaces allow it to be configured for mine warfare, intelligence preparation, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and precision placement.
The vessel reportedly costs nearly $2.5m. Its advertised maximum depth is almost twice the depth at which the OceanGate Titan submersible imploded near the Titanic wreck in June 2023.
What the capture could mean
The competing accounts leave the central question unresolved: Iran presents the incident as a capture of an advanced US military system, while the US account portrays the loss as a malfunction involving an older platform without sensitive equipment. A related part of this story is covered in “Iran’s Hormuz plan: proposed boundaries, routes and enforcement”.
The incident comes as Iran and the United States exchange attacks on ships and other assets around the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway connects the Gulf and the Arabian Sea and had carried a fifth of global oil and gas before the war began, according to the supplied account.
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