On June 9, 2026, a US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz after an Iranian drone reportedly caused a fire in the cockpit. The two crew members were pulled from the water by a US Navy Corsair unmanned surface vessel, making it the first confirmed use of an autonomous sea drone for a personnel recovery operation.
Both crew members were unharmed. The Pentagon followed up with retaliatory strikes on Iranian targets, including air defense sites and ground-control stations.
What happened and why it matters
President Donald Trump stated that Iranian drones caused the fire aboard the Apache helicopter, which led to the crash near one of the most strategically important waterways on Earth. The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly 20% of all global crude oil shipments.
The rescue was conducted by Task Force 59, a US Navy unit that has been experimenting with unmanned maritime systems. The Corsair unmanned surface vessel reached the downed crew and executed the recovery without a human operator on board.
