First Use of Unmanned Kamikaze Boat by the U.S. in Attack on Iran

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the first use of a kamikaze naval drones to strike Iranian targets on the night of July 12.

“CENTCOM forces struck Iranian military air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats using U.S. fighter aircraft, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones, and one-way attack sea drones for the first time,” a CENTCOM press release said.

The U.S. has been building its kamikaze unmanned surface vessel (USV) fleet since 2024 when Ukraine first attacked Russian ships with USVs with devastating effect. USVs can travel fast, far and with with warhead of close to a ton in weight; enough to sink a medium sized warship.

Of this  Ukrainian ‘Magura’ naval attack drone stands out for its high success rate. Some American companies have developed their own versions of the Magura. One of them is called Variant 7 from the American company Red Cat. Ukrainian media reported that this was probably used in the U.S. attack on Iran.

Iranian USVs

Iran has been a pioneer in the use of USV. On January 30, 2017, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) helped  Houthi rebels in Yemen to launch a USV attack on the Saudi frigate Al Madinah, killing two. Later, reports emerged of the Houthis own USV ‘Toofan’ being used to harass the U.S. Navy in the Red Sea 2023-2025.

Iran has been using a combination of sea drones and UAVs to enforce its control over the Strait of Hormuz. On March 1, the tanker MKD Vyom was struck by a USV in the Gulf of Oman killing an Indian sailor. Then on March 5 the oil tanker Sonangol Namibe had its hull breached by a kamikaze USVs while at port in Iraq. On March 11 the American-owned tanker Safesea Vishnu was struck by two USVs during a ship-to-ship cargo transfer of flammable naphtha to the Greek tanker Zefyros, engulfing both ships in flame. The crew of Safesea Vishnu was forced to abandon ship with the loss of one life.

While the U.S. navy outguns and out-flies the Iranian Navy; using a clever combination of UAVs and USVs Tehran has brought shipping in the Persian Gulf to a near stand-to-still as insurers refuse to authorize passage.