Mahmoud Makbar, an advisor to the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated that the US unmanned submarine presents an opportunity for Iran to achieve a new leap in developing autonomous navigation systems, according to a Telegram post. Makbar recalled Iran's 2011 capture of a US RQ-170 surveillance drone as a precedent for leveraging captured US technology.
IRGC advisor Mahmoud Makbar stated on Wednesday evening that the US unmanned submarine seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz presents an opportunity to achieve a leap in autonomous navigation technology, drawing a direct parallel to Iran's 2011 capture of a US RQ-170 surveillance drone. Makbar's remarks, published on Telegram, argued that reverse-engineering the RQ-170 transformed Iran into a major UAV power and suggested the underwater vehicle could serve a similar role. The statement reflects the IRGC's ongoing interest in exploiting captured US systems for military technological development.
The seizure of the US Dive-LD unmanned underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz was first reported on Tuesday evening (Sep 8, 19:03 Jerusalem). US Central Command stated the vehicle had suffered a malfunction more than a day prior and was not carrying sensitive equipment or classified sonar. Later that same evening, the IRGC described the captured Dive-LD as among America's 'most advanced' such systems, a claim The Zioneer assessed as substantially exaggerated, noting the Dive-LD is a conventional, commercially developed UUV built around off-the-shelf components.
The IRGC's pattern of leveraging captured US technology is well documented. As The Zioneer has previously reported, Iran's reverse-engineering of the RQ-170 Sentinel drone—which went down near the Afghan border in 2011—enabled significant advances in Tehran's unmanned aerial vehicle program. The current rhetoric from IRGC leadership comes amid heightened friction in the Persian Gulf, including IRGC threats against Gulf shipping and ongoing US military activity in the region.
The advisor's specific claim that the captured underwater drone will enable a leap in autonomous navigation technology could not be independently verified. Given the IRGC's earlier exaggerated characterization of the Dive-LD, the desk assesses the new assertion with caution.
4 developments
- StrongIranian channels claim IRGC downed US drone over Strait of Hormuz
- DevelopingIRGC Says Its Air Defense Systems Intercepted MQ-9 Drone Over Strait of Hormuz
- DevelopingIRGC claims it struck US military facility in Kuwait, attacked vessel near Hormuz
- StrongIRGC attacked vessel in Strait of Hormuz overnight, Channel 14 reports
Source and signal
- Open-source intake