Editor’s note: This is a developing story.
Two U.S. Army soldiers were brought to safety by a drone on Monday after their AH-64 Apache helicopter went down near the coast of Oman, in what may mark the services’ first unmanned vessel rescue.
“The surface drone that assisted in last night’s rescue of the Apache crew off the coast of Oman was a U.S. Navy Corsair unmanned surface vessel operated by U.S. 5th Fleet’s Task Force 59,” Capt. Tim Hawkins, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson, said in a statement Tuesday.
”The Task Force began fielding these drones in theater in late March,” he said.
The crew was rescued by American forces within two hours, at 7:33 p.m. Eastern Time, according to a separate release. Both service members are in stable condition.
The helicopter was “patrolling regional waters,” according to the command, and the cause of the incident is under investigation.
U.S. Navy assets from Naval Forces Central Command, including Task Force 59, and the 82nd Airborne Division led the rescue, with assistance from the Air Force.
Task Force 59 is the Navy’s Bahrain-based unit, responsible for integrating artificial intelligence and unmanned systems into maritime operations in the U.S.’s Fifth Fleet Area of Operations, which includes the Strait of Hormuz.
The Corsair is a 24-foot vessel that is capable of carrying more than 1,000 pounds over 1,000 nautical miles, according to Saronic, its manufacturer.
Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.