The Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s naval force announced on Sunday, 27 September 2026, that it had detained a US-made Remus 600 autonomous underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz, saying the vehicle was carrying out a spying mission in the strategic waterway.
Details of the operation and technologies used to intercept the vehicle
The naval force said in a statement carried by Iran’s official media that the vehicle was intercepted during a “co-ordinated and complex operation” involving intelligence capabilities and electronic warfare technologies. It added that the vehicle was now in the possession of its specialists, who were examining it and working to recover the data stored inside. The Revolutionary Guard described it as an advanced US military unmanned underwater system.
The statement did not provide details on when the vehicle was intercepted or the precise location of the operation within the strait, nor did it specify the nature of the data it was believed to have collected during its mission. The US Navy uses vehicles from the Remus class in unmanned underwater operations.
Remus 600 capabilities and the September precedent
Information published by the US Navy indicates that the Remus 600 is a programmable vehicle capable of operating independently and reaching an operational depth of 600 metres. Systems in this class are used to gather information about the marine environment and conduct underwater surveying operations. The announcement follows a similar incident on 8 September 2026, when the Revolutionary Guard said it had taken control of another US unmanned vehicle at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian media identified the first vehicle at the time as a Dive-LD, a large autonomous submersible. The US military said after the first incident that one of its unmanned maritime vehicles had suffered a malfunction during a surveying mission in the area’s waters.
A US official said at the time that the vehicle was an older model and carried no classified equipment, without confirming the Iranian account that it had been seized. The new incident comes amid the continuing confrontation between Iran and the United States since the war broke out on 28 February 2026, accompanied by Iranian restrictions on maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and a US counter-blockade of Iranian ports.
Tehran says it plans to impose what it calls a “service charge” on vessels passing through the strait to fund services including environmental protection, while the United States rejects the proposal. The Strait of Hormuz is a major route for shipping and energy trade between the Gulf and the Arabian Sea.
