In a first-of-its kind operation, a drone boat built by Austin-based Saronic Technologies found and rescued the crew of a U.S. Apache helicopter that crashed early Tuesday near the Strait of Hormuz.
The unmanned surface vessel, a 24-foot Saronic Corsair, located the two aviators who had spent two hours in the waters off the coast of Oman and brought them to shore, the military said.
Military officials have not said what caused the helicopter to go down about 1:30 a.m. local time or whether it had come under enemy fire. The military said the crash was under investigation.
The AH-64 helicopter was patrolling waters around the strait, the strategic waterway that Iran has effectively closed since the U.S. and Israel attacked in late February.
The Apache crew was in stable condition when they were rescued about 3:30 a.m. local time, a military official said.
“The pilots are fine. Yeah,” President Donald Trump told reporters Monday evening. “Nobody injured. We are going to issue a report tomorrow. But the pilots are fine.”
While drones have been used in war zones for decades, Tuesday’s rescue appears to be the first time a sea drone has saved people in combat.
The crash occurred with the Middle East still reeling after Iran and Israel exchanged fire the previous day in the biggest blow yet to the strained ceasefire in the Iran war. Iranian state television reported Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air defense units.
Saronic, which more than doubled its valuation to $9.25 billion with $1.75 billion in new funding in March, is ramping up production of its drone boats with a goal of building more than 20 annually by 2027. It has plans to build a $3.2 billion shipyard at the Port of Brownsville.
The company is seeing growing demand from the U.S. military. In December, it received a $392 million production contract for its Corsair vessels, with nearly $200 million obligated at the time of award.
Estimated to cost about $1 million per unit, the Corsair has a range of 1,000 nautical miles and can carry up to 1,000 pounds at speeds topping 35 knots.