Dramatic moment US explosive sea drones strike southern Iranian port as new attacks exchanged
The U.S. has used sea drones in combat for the very first time, striking a southern Iranian hub used for repairing submarines, according to the U.S. military.
While sea drones ferrying explosives have been widely used by Ukraine to target Russian ports in the Black Sea since 2022, Iran has wielded its own small, fast-attack boats to menace commercial shipping in the vital Strait of Hormuz, drawing the ire of the U.S.
But this is the first time a major Western military has used explosive naval drones, sometimes referred to as kamikaze one-way attack sea drones, in wartime missions.
The U.S. said it deployed three Corsair naval drones to strike the port at Iran’s naval base in Bandar Abbas, the coastal city home to much of Iran’s naval forces, that sits just north of the Strait of Hormuz.
Saronic, the Texas-headquartered drone company that makes Corsair, said it was “proud that our technology supported this mission.”
Corsair sea drones, measuring 24 feet, can travel roughly 40 miles per hour over a distance of roughly 1,150 miles (1852 kilometers), according to the manufacturer. It is the smallest of three autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) made by Saronic.
The U.S. Navy inked a $392 million deal with Saronic for Corsair drones in December 2025. Last month, the U.S. confirmed a Corsair drone had rescued two U.S. soldiers who were aboard a helicopter that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. Central Command, which oversees all U.S. forces in the Middle East, shared a clip on Monday it said showed the moment of impact in Bandar Abbas on Sunday, three sea drones captured in overhead footage veering toward the port.
The footage switches to a brief view of the port from the sea drone as it approaches, before it slams into a pier and sparks a large explosion.
Newsweek could not independently verify this clip.
Three people were killed in southern Iran, state-controlled media reported. The U.S. military said its sea drone strikes had “degraded Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial shipping.”
The U.S. launched a third night of strikes on Iran into Tuesday, while Tehran’s military said it had hit two tankers belonging to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Strait of Hormuz, marking a sharp escalation that further rattles the fragile initial memorandum of understanding agreed between the U.S. and Iran on June 17 to allow both sides time to negotiate a final peace deal.
The Emirati government said one person had been killed and another eight injured when Iranian missiles struck the tankers in Oman’s territorial waters, sparking fires onboard.
Iran also said it targeted U.S. military facilities in Jordan and Bahrain.
The current war between the U.S. and Iran began with joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on the country in late February, prompting Iran to retaliate by targeting U.S. allies across the Middle East with drones and missiles, as well as attacking vessels trying to make it through the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. has for months tried, unsuccessfully, to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas usually passes.
President Donald Trump said on Monday the U.S. would put its blockade of Iranian ports back in place, as well as place a 20 percent charge on all goods shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. initially imposed its naval blockade in mid-April and said it would allow access in and out of Iranian ports under the agreement reached last month.
A senior Iranian lawmaker said on Tuesday the country’s parliament had introduced a new bill to tighten Iran’s grip over the Strait of Hormuz, which he said came after the “downing of U.S. drones” overnight.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Frances Mao and Cristina Diciu.
