Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that they had captured a US uncrewed submarine at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, calling it 'one of the most modern, intelligent and unmanned submarines of the terrorist American army,' adding that 'this submersible is equipped with the latest technologies.' Iranian state media identified the vessel as a Dive-LD.
What exactly is a Dive-LD?
The Dive-LD is a large autonomous underwater vehicle built by California-based defence company Anduril, measuring about 19 feet (5.8 metres) long. It's designed to operate without a crew, carrying out tasks that would otherwise put naval personnel at risk. Its capture appears to be the first known instance of an operational deployment of the Dive-LD, a capability that only entered service with the US Navy a little more than a year and a half ago.
Why it's being called 'intelligent'
The description comes largely from Iran's own statement, though it points to a real capability set. According to Anduril, the Dive-LD can perform mine countermeasures, seabed mapping, intelligence gathering, and inspection of underwater infrastructure such as cables and pipelines. Anduril describes it as an 'attritable' autonomous system, built specifically to operate in dangerous environments where the loss of the vehicle is an accepted possibility, so that human crews don't have to enter the riskiest parts of an undersea mission.
Cost and technical specs
Dive-LD units cost approximately $2.5 million each, according to a 2024 report by US military news outlet DefenseScoop. On performance, Anduril's website states the vehicle can operate for up to 10 days without returning to base and is built to dive to depths of up to 6,000 metres (19,700 feet).
A disputed picture: how significant was this one?
The Pentagon has pushed back on the idea that a major asset was lost. CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said the drone had been 'essentially dead in the water for more than a day' before Iran's announcement, and that it had been surveying regional waters as part of ongoing operations. A separate Pentagon statement described the captured device as an older model that 'neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment.'
The Navy's purchase of Dive-LD units falls under 'Project Replicator,' a Pentagon modernisation drive launched in 2023 aimed at mass-producing autonomous systems partly as a deterrent against China. More broadly, the US military has been investing heavily in unmanned underwater and surface vessels as a cheaper way to monitor large stretches of ocean and track adversary ships without risking sailors' lives, a strategy this incident has now put under an unusual public spotlight.
