Iran Captures U.S. Navy's Dive-LD Drone Near Strait of Hormuz
Anduril's autonomous underwater vehicle malfunctioned during a mine-clearance mission. Now Tehran has it—largely intact.
By The Defense Desk
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has retrieved a U.S. Navy Anduril Dive-LD uncrewed underwater vehicle near the Strait of Hormuz, releasing video of the 19-foot drone being lifted from the water. It is the first known operational deployment of the Dive-LD—a system that only began entering U.S. Navy service roughly a year and a half ago. [1]
A U.S. official told TWZ that the vehicle "malfunctioned more than a day ago." The official added: "It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations. The defective drone was an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment." Anduril subsequently confirmed the loss. [1]
The Dive-LD is 19 feet long, weighs close to three tons, carries a 3D-printed exterior, and is rated to dive to 19,685 feet. It can operate autonomously for around 10 days at a time. Originally developed by Dive Technologies—founded in 2018 and acquired by Anduril in 2022—the first unit was delivered to the Navy's Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Group One in April 2025. Sailors at Keyport, Washington had trained with the vehicle the previous December. [1][2]
UUVs have been supporting mine-clearance operations in and around the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian naval mines have dramatically slowed maritime traffic. The Dive-LD's modular design allows configuration for mine warfare, ISR, and intelligence preparation of the operational environment. [1]
What Tehran does with the vehicle next is the real question. Iran has a documented history of reverse-engineering captured foreign hardware—and close enough ties to Russia and China to share what it learns.
Dive-LD has been feeding into Anduril's development of an even more capable large UUV called Ghost Shark, the first customer for which is the Royal Australian Navy—making every detail Iran extracts from this hull more than a one-time intelligence windfall. [1]
Dive-LD is an attritable autonomous system, meaning it is designed from the outset to operate in dangerous environments where loss of the vehicle is an expected possibility.Anduril spokesperson