Iranian ship wanted to steal two American drones Saildrone Explorer

Iran is not giving up hope of getting its hands on a U.S. Saildrone Explorer surface drone. After failure in August, an Iranian ship attempted to hijack two U.S. drones at once.

Here's What We Know

The first attempt to hijack the Saildrone Explorer ended in failure thanks to the USS Thunderbolt patrol boat and the MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter, which flew into the Persian Gulf from Bahrain. The incident occurred on the night of August 29.

Two days later, on September 1, the Iranian frigate Moudge Jamaran was able to capture two Saildrone Explorer drones at once. At 2 p.m. (EET), the U.S. 5th Fleet sent the destroyers USS Nitze and USS Delbert D. Black, as well as an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter.

Negotiations with the Iranians lasted a long time, but in the end the Americans got their way. on September 2 at 02:00 (EDT) or 23:00 (PDT) both drones were returned to the USAF. By the way, Saildrone Explorer are not armed, and the purpose of their arrival in the Persian Gulf is to obtain photographs of the environment.

Source: Naval Today

Image: SailDrone