US Sea Drones Destroy Iranian Midget Submarine at Bandar Abbas in Combat First

Three Saronic Corsair one-way attack drones destroyed a docked Ghadir-class midget submarine at Bandar Abbas Naval Base over the weekend of July 12-13, in what CENTCOM called the first combat employment of armed sea drones by US forces.

Three US one-way attack unmanned surface vessels struck Iran's Bandar Abbas Naval Base over the weekend of July 12–13, destroying a docked Ghadir-class midget submarine in what US Central Command described as the first combat employment of armed sea drones by American forces.

The three Saronic Corsair vessels hit the port's submarine and ship maintenance facility, CENTCOM said in a statement, adding that the strikes "degraded Iran's ability to continue attacking commercial shipping." According to reporting by Naval News and USNI News, the craft approached the dock from different directions under autonomous control before rendezvousing alongside the laid-up submarine and detonating.

The Corsair is a 24-foot composite-hull autonomous vessel capable of 35 knots, with a range of around 1,000 nautical miles and a 1,000-pound payload. Built by Austin, Texas-based Saronic, the type had reached a production run of more than 300 units by May 2026. The drones were deployed by US 5th Fleet's Task Force 59, the Bahrain-based unit created in 2021 to integrate unmanned systems into Middle East operations.

The strike marks a shift in a tactic pioneered at scale by Ukraine in the Black Sea, where explosive-laden surface drones have sunk or damaged multiple Russian warships since 2022. It is the first time the United States has employed the weapon operationally.

The Ghadir class is a domestically built midget submarine of roughly 120 tonnes, derived from the North Korean Yono design and intended for shallow-water operations in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. This is the second Ghadir lost in the conflict between Iran and the United States: another boat of the class was destroyed near the Strait of Hormuz in March. GlobalMilitary.net data shows Iran has now lost 29 naval vessels since the conflict began in February, including the frigates IRIS Alborz and IRIS Deylaman and five Sina-class missile boats destroyed at Bandar Anzali in March.

Details of the July 12 strike suggest the Corsairs covered a significant distance in transit, though CENTCOM has not disclosed the launch point. The command has signaled that unmanned strikes will continue as long as Iranian attacks on commercial shipping persist, and Saronic has stated it is scaling production of the Corsair line at its Texas facilities.