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A U.S. Navy-operated autonomous surface vessel (ASV) built by Saronic rescued two U.S. Army aviators after their AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed off the coast of Oman, marking what appears to be the first publicly reported personnel recovery conducted by an unmanned surface vessel.
According to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the helicopter went down near the coast of Oman while conducting patrol operations on Monday, June 8. The two crew members were rescued within approximately two hours and were reported in stable condition. The cause of the incident remains under investigation.
The rescue was carried out by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and U.S. 5th Fleet's Task Force 59, the Navy's dedicated unit for integrating unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into maritime operations.
President Donald Trump later posted on social media that the Apache had been shot down by Iranian forces while operating over the Strait of Hormuz, describing the incident as an attack that would require a U.S. response. "The Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz," Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that both crew members were safe and that the United States "must, of necessity, respond to this attack."
Reuters, citing CENTCOM spokesperson Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, reported that a Saronic Corsair autonomous surface vessel was dispatched to recover the pilots from the water.
"The drone picked them up and transported them to another location on the water where they were hoisted up to a helicopter for further transport," Hawkins told Reuters.
While details of the recovery operation remain limited, the mission represents a significant operational milestone for both Task Force 59 and Saronic, one of the fastest-growing companies in the maritime autonomy sector.
The purported vessel involved in the rescue was Saronic's Corsair, a 24-foot autonomous surface vessel designed for maritime security, surveillance, force protection, and logistics missions. The diesel-powered platform is capable of carrying payloads of up to 1,000 pounds and operating over distances exceeding 1,000 nautical miles without a crew onboard.
Corsair combines radar, cameras, satellite communications, onboard computing, and autonomous navigation software that allows the vessel to operate independently while maintaining awareness of surrounding traffic and hazards. The vessel can operate under remote supervision or autonomously for extended periods.
The successful operation comes just six months after the U.S. Navy awarded Saronic a $392 million production contract for its Corsair autonomous surface vessels, marking one of the fastest transitions from prototype to production in recent Navy acquisition history. The award underscored growing Pentagon confidence in unmanned maritime systems and helped establish Corsair as one of the Navy's leading operational autonomous vessel programs.
Earlier this year, Saronic completed a multi-day test campaign involving eight Corsair vessels operating continuously more than 70 nautical miles offshore. The vessels logged more than 4,500 nautical miles during the exercise while conducting autonomous harbor transits, long-range patrols, communications-denied operations, and multi-day loiter missions.
The company said the tests validated the vessel's ability to remain on station for extended periods while autonomously managing fuel consumption and power usage, capabilities that align closely with the operational requirements of Task Force 59.
Established in 2021, Task Force 59 serves as the U.S. Navy's primary experimentation and operational unit for unmanned maritime systems in the Middle East. The task force operates across the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Arabian Sea, including some of the world's most strategically important maritime chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.
The rescue comes during a period of rapid growth for Saronic.
In April, the Austin-based company announced it had raised $1.75 billion in Series D funding at a valuation of $9.25 billion, one of the largest fundraising rounds ever completed by a maritime technology company. The company said the capital would support expansion of its autonomous vessel portfolio and the development of new shipbuilding capacity in the United States.
The company has positioned itself as both a maritime autonomy developer and a shipbuilder, arguing that the United States must expand industrial capacity to compete with China's growing maritime dominance.
That strategy was further demonstrated in May when Saronic launched its first Marauder Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV), a 180-foot autonomous ship designed for long-range defense and commercial missions.
According to the company, the first Marauder hull progressed from initial design to on-water trials in less than a year. The vessel is capable of speeds exceeding 25 knots, ranges of up to 5,400 nautical miles, and can carry payloads of up to 150 metric tons, including standard shipping containers.
Multiple Marauder hulls are already under construction at the company's shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana, where Saronic ultimately aims to produce up to 20 vessels annually.
The company's growth has also been fueled by increasing demand from the U.S. military. Last year Saronic received a $392 million production contract from the U.S. Navy, helping accelerate the transition of its autonomous systems from prototype programs to operational deployments.
For years, autonomous vessel developers have promoted future applications ranging from surveillance and logistics to combat operations. The rescue off Oman offers a rare real-world example of an autonomous vessel being used during an actual emergency.
Rather than collecting intelligence or conducting surveillance, the Corsair was tasked with recovering personnel from the water and transporting them to safety—an operation traditionally performed by crewed rescue craft.
As navies increasingly seek ways to extend operational reach while reducing risk to personnel, the mission may provide an early glimpse of how autonomous vessels could become a routine part of search-and-rescue, force protection, and maritime security operations in the years ahead.
Fuente: GCAPTAIN_NEWS
