Iran’s recent seizure of a US Navy cruise ship in the Persian Gulf highlighted a groundbreaking new Pentagon program aimed at expanding its ability to monitor large areas with air and sea drones, as well as using artificial intelligence.
This year-long program includes the use of several types of maritime drones, known as USVs, in the waters around the Arabian Peninsula and in the Persian Gulf to collect data and images, which are then sent to centers established in the region for analysis.
The program did not encounter any problems until the Iranian Navy attempted to capture three naval parades of seven-meter Saildrone Explorers during two incidents on the night of 29/30 August and 1 September.
During the first incident in the waters of the Persian Gulf, a ship belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was seen making a march to release him later, sending an American patrol boat and a helicopter to the place.
During the second incident, an Iranian destroyer confiscated two Saildrone Explorer drones in the Red Sea and carried them aboard. Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of the US Navy in Central Command, said that Iran’s actions were unjustified and incompatible with the behavior of the destroyer. professional navy.
He added: The US military will continue to fly, swim and move anywhere available in accordance with international law.
Since the beginning of the year, the US Navy and its regional partners have deployed such low-speed Saildrones and battery-powered Mantas T-12 boats.
The US Navy is seeking to prevent Iran from sending weapons by sea to Houthi militias in Yemen and other groups, and is helping to enforce sanctions imposed on Tehran.
And the United States has decided to locate Spetsnaz 59 headquarters in the Persian Gulf region rather than other areas with less problems, and the US military says part of the program is developing tactics and rules for these marches, including knowing how to deal with such countries like Iran, trying to get them out of the sea.