China News Service, October 1 (Reporter Diao Wei) Following the capture of a US military Dive-LD unmanned submarine on September 8, the UAE's "Gulf News" stated on September 28 that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards captured another US military REMUS 600 unmanned submarine in the Strait of Hormuz early that morning.
Military expert Chen Hu believes that the U.S. military's unmanned submarines frequently appear in the Strait of Hormuz, or they may conduct platoon reconnaissance on Iran's laying of mines here, especially the type, location, and detonation method of the mines.
The average depth of the Strait of Hormuz is about 30 meters. Not only is it densely covered with reefs and shoals, it is also within the range of Iran's coastal fire defenses. Therefore, it is very difficult to hand over this task to surface ships or large submarines.
Chen Hu said that compared with manned ships, unmanned underwater vehicles are smaller and slower. When operating covertly underwater at a certain depth, the probability of being discovered should be said to be very low.
It can be seen from public reports that the US military's unmanned submarines often use bright red and yellow casings. However, the two unmanned submarines captured by Iran were specially changed to light gray and white paint to make it easier to blend into the ocean background.
"But the submarine also has an inherent flaw, that is, it needs to surface from time to time to receive and receive information and correct satellite navigation data." Chen Hu said, "Although this time is short, it may be exposed due to the interception of electromagnetic signals."
It is worth noting that after Dive-LD was captured, the US military responded that "it is an old submersible that has malfunctioned and does not carry confidential equipment." After REMUS 600 was captured, the US military simply denied the Iraqi statement.
Special observer Wang Liyu told China News Service that as an important part of the modern naval equipment system, unmanned underwater vehicles are truly high-end intelligent equipment with high technical threshold and difficulty in manufacturing.
Take Dive-LD as an example. It is nearly 6 meters long and weighs about 3 tons. It is made of high-strength aluminum-titanium alloy and 3D printing technology. It can carry sonar, cameras and various sensors and dive into the 6,000-meter deep sea to operate autonomously for 10 days.
The Belgian "Army Knowledge" website stated that in 2024, the US Navy will spend US$18.6 million to purchase 5 Dive-LDs. After five months of personnel operation and equipment running-in training, the first submarine of this type will be officially commissioned in April 2025.
It can be seen that the Dive-LD captured by Iraq has only been in service for 17 months and is not "old equipment".
The REMUS 600 is the flagship product of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the United States. Foreign media call it "representing the world-class technical level of medium-sized unmanned submarines."
According to the Malaysian "Asian Defense Security" website, the torpedo-shaped REMUS 600 adopts a modular design, weighs about 240 kilograms, has a maximum diving depth of 600 meters, and a maximum range of 530 kilometers. It can sneak into opponent's ports silently for reconnaissance.
Wang Liyu pointed out that two US-made unmanned submarines with a total value of more than 7.2 million US dollars were captured by Iran in just 20 days. Obviously, they cannot be simply attributed to mechanical failures.
According to Al Jazeera, the Houthi armed forces in Yemen once salvaged a REMUS 600 in the Red Sea. Iran may have cracked the defense mechanism of the US-made submarine and found a countermeasure.
Foreign media also said that Iran had previously used electronic warfare methods to successfully deceive and completely capture the US military's RQ-170 drone.
