Iran likely to reverse-engineer captured US underwater drone

Iran's capture of a US ​military underwater drone gives Tehran an opportunity to study and potentially reverse engineer the vessel, delivering a setback for the Pentagon and ‌drone maker Anduril.

The US military and Anduril have downplayed the significance of the drone falling into Iranian hands. 

The vessel, a Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle designed for long-range surveillance and other undersea missions, is among a new generation of military drones intended to operate for days with little human intervention.

Washington has previously treated the loss of advanced drones to Iran as a ​serious matter.

After Iran captured an RQ-170 Sentinel stealth reconnaissance drone in 2011, then-President Barack Obama publicly asked Tehran to return the aircraft.

Iran later ​claimed it had reverse-engineered the drone and subsequently unveiled domestically produced models that appeared to draw heavily on its design.

More recently, ⁠the US military moved swiftly to prevent Iranian forces from taking possession of uncrewed maritime technology.

In 2022, a US Navy patrol ship and MH-60S Seahawk ​helicopter were deployed after an Iranian naval vessel attempted to tow away a Saildrone surface vessel in the Gulf, according to the Navy.

Analysts say Iran is unlikely to ​gain a decisive military advantage from the captured drone, but the episode nonetheless represents a propaganda victory for Tehran and an awkward setback for Washington's efforts to project technological superiority.

Iranian embassies mock US

Iranian embassies around the world have mocked the US for losing its drone. Iran's embassy in Ghana, in a post on X, boasted about picking the submersible up in "a strait ​controlled by people who can hear a shrimp sneeze," adding that, "Our guys picked it up like a plastic bottle in a fishing net. Fully intact. Still ​blinking like an idiot. Condolences to whoever was holding the joystick."

US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins of US Central Command said the "defective drone was an older model that neither collected sensitive ‌data nor carried ⁠any classified sonar or radar equipment." Anduril did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Of course Iran will take every opportunity as a propaganda win," said Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "It can help the (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) make better versions of their own designs."

Iran will almost certainly try to pry open the drone's hardware, but the drone's software carries built-in defenses, said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow and director of the Center for ​Defense Concepts and Technology at the Hudson ​Institute.

Iranian engineers "could definitely reverse-engineer the ⁠mechanical systems," he said, pointing to Tehran's track record with captured American aircraft.

"Unboxing ceremony by our reverse engineers, tomorrow morning!" Iran's embassy in Hyderabad wrote on X.

The incident has also highlighted a disconnect between the messaging of Anduril and its customer, ​the US Navy.

Navy officials said the Dive-LD was an older-model vehicle that suffered a malfunction and was recovered by ​Iranian forces after being ⁠left "dead in the water."

Anduril has promoted the Dive-LD as "the most reliable and flexible" large autonomous underwater vehicle available, saying it is capable of operating for up to 10 days in demanding conditions.

In addition to its use by the US Navy, the Dive-LD was the testbed vehicle for the development of Australia's new Ghost Shark large underwater ⁠drone.

"This is something ​that Iran has proven very adept at exploiting for its own benefit in terms of seeking ​to frame the narrative as one of US, in this case, ineptitude and their ability to sort of retain control over the Strait of Hormuz," said Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East ​program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.