Hegseth says Saronic sea drone rescued U.S. pilots and struck Iranian naval facility in first American combat deployment

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a Saronic Corsair autonomous surface vessel supported two U.S. combat missions in the Middle East. In June, the craft recovered two Army aviators off Oman after their AH-64 was downed, carrying them to a point where a helicopter could hoist them aboard. In July, it struck a submarine and ship-maintenance facility at Iran's Bandar Abbas Naval Base. Hegseth described the attack as the first American combat use of a sea drone, while the Corsair was operated by the Navy's Task Force 59 and Fifth Fleet.