Iran Seizes US Underwater Drone, Raising Reverse Engineering Risk

Iran appears to possess a U.S. military autonomous underwater vehicle recovered near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps called the Dive-LD one of America’s most advanced unmanned submarines, while U.S. officials described it as an older vehicle that had malfunctioned and remained “dead in the water” for more than a day.

Iran could reverse-engineer the Dive-LD’s mechanical systems and use what it learns to improve its own underwater drones. Built-in software defenses may prevent access to more sensitive functions, according to The Jerusalem Post, while U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the vehicle carried no classified sonar or radar and had collected no sensitive data.

However, Iran still gains access to an intact American platform and a propaganda victory from displaying it.

What Iran Captured

The Dive-LD is not a crewed submarine. It is a large autonomous underwater vehicle developed by Anduril Industries.

The approximately 19-foot vehicle can operate without a person aboard and carry different payloads for seabed mapping, surveillance, mine countermeasures, infrastructure inspection and other military or commercial missions. Its published specifications indicate that it can reach depths of 6,000 meters, or about 19,700 feet.

U.S. Central Command said the vehicle had been surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations when it malfunctioned. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, CENTCOM spokesperson, said it neither collected sensitive information nor carried classified sonar or radar equipment, according to Defense Scoop.

He also said U.S. operations in the area continued after its loss.

What Iran May Be Able to Learn

The most immediate concern is reverse engineering.

Analysts said Iran could study the Dive-LD’s hull, propulsion system, mechanical components, manufacturing methods and internal arrangement. Iran may not be able to reproduce the entire system, but individual features could inform its own underwater-drone programs.

Iran will almost certainly attempt to examine the drone’s hardware, but its software contains built-in defenses. The absence of classified sensors or mission data would reduce the intelligence value, but it would not make the physical vehicle entirely worthless.

Software protection also does not prevent engineers from measuring components, examining materials or studying how a vehicle survives pressure at great depths. Even incomplete technical information could help Iran compare American design decisions with its own or identify features worth reproducing.

Analysts nevertheless assessed that the capture probably would not give Iran a decisive military advantage.

An Expected Loss

Anduril described Dive-LD as an “attritable” system, meaning the military expects that some vehicles will be lost during operations.

Accepting occasional losses is central to the Pentagon’s effort to field large numbers of relatively affordable autonomous systems. The department launched its Replicator initiative in 2023 to deploy autonomous platforms at scale instead of relying exclusively on a smaller number of costly systems that commanders cannot afford to lose.

Attritable does not always mean the loss is entirely consequence-free. A vehicle can be affordable enough to risk while still containing technology useful to an adversary.

The Navy’s description of the Dive-LD as old and defective addresses its immediate operational value, but Iran received an intact physical system rather than wreckage scattered across the seafloor.

Iran Has Tried This Before

Iranian forces attempted to tow away a U.S. Saildrone Explorer in the Arabian Gulf in August 2022.

The USS Thunderbolt and an MH-60S Seahawk responded, prompting the Iranian vessel to release it. Days later, an Iranian warship seized two more Saildrones in the Red Sea.

Two U.S. destroyers intervened, and Iran returned those vehicles the following morning.

Iran also obtained an intact RQ-170 Sentinel surveillance drone in 2011 and later claimed to have flown a reverse-engineered version.

How closely Iran’s copies matched the American aircraft remains disputed, but the episode demonstrated Tehran’s willingness to exploit captured U.S. technology for research and propaganda.

The Dive-LD’s capture will not end the Navy’s use of autonomous underwater vehicles. It will, however, test whether an attritable fleet can lose vehicles without repeatedly delivering usable American hardware to the forces those drones were sent to monitor.