A remotely operated vessel called the Corsair successfully retrieved an Apache helicopter crew after their aircraft was shot down by Iranian forces, marking the first known rescue operation of its kind involving an unmanned boat.
Both crew members were pulled from the water and transported by the Corsair to another location, where they were hoisted onto a manned helicopter. Central Command confirmed both are in stable condition.
President Trump attributed the incident to Iranian action and signaled a military response would follow. The downed AH-64 Apache is manufactured by Boeing.
The rescue operation showcased emerging military doctrine in which human operators and autonomous systems work in tandem during high-risk missions. The Corsair, made by robotics company Saronic, was operated by the Navy's Task Force 59, an experimental command established in 2021 to integrate unmanned vessels and artificial intelligence into naval strategy.
Saronic advertises the Corsair as autonomous, though it remained unclear how much of the rescue maneuver was automated versus remote-controlled during the actual operation. Naval leadership has championed a hybrid fleet model for years, blending crewed and uncrewed vessels to expand operational reach.
The Corsair, unveiled in October 2024, measures 24 feet in length and can travel up to 1,000 nautical miles while carrying 1,000 pounds of cargo. It reaches speeds exceeding 35 knots. The vessel is substantially larger than two earlier Saronic designs, Spyglass and Cutlass, with onboard fuel weight alone exceeding the combined mass of both smaller boats.
The Navy awarded Saronic a $392 million production contract in December to manufacture additional drone boats. Saronic CEO Dino Mavrookas, a former Navy officer who spent years with SEAL Team Six, built the company around unmanned maritime technology.
Author James Rodriguez: "This rescue hints at a future where naval operations depend less on putting human sailors in harm's way and more on letting machines handle the dangerous work."
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