The “Dive-LD” Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), produced by the American defense technology company Anduril Industries, was captured by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Monday evening. Designed for reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, mine countermeasures, and seabed mapping, the drone is capable of diving to depths of 6,000 meters and conducting autonomous missions lasting up to 10 days.
According to technical specifications published on Anduril’s website, the Dive-LD measures approximately 5.8 meters in length and 1.2 meters in diameter and weighs nearly 2.7 metric tons. The autonomous subsurface vessel can descend to depths of 6,000 meters and operate for up to 10 days without returning to base, depending on mission parameters.
The significance of the Dive-LD extends beyond its dimensions and operational depth. It is engineered for missions where deploying human personnel is either cost-prohibitive or high-risk, ranging from intelligence gathering and reconnaissance to mine detection, seabed bathymetry, and the inspection of underwater pipelines and cables. Its modular payload bay allows for customized sensor integration tailored to specific mission profiles.
In recent years, the U.S. military has invested heavily in autonomous systems to monitor vast maritime spaces and gather intelligence without exposing service members to risk. Anduril states that the Dive-LD was fundamentally designed to operate in high-threat environments, where the loss of the vehicle is an accepted risk.
