Iran has captured a fully intact Dive-LD autonomous underwater submarine manufactured by American defense company Anduril, according to a report by Reuters.
The acquisition of the uncrewed vessel allows Tehran to examine the internal construction of the next-generation American submersible, raising concerns that Iranian engineers could reverse engineer and replicate the technology in what would be a significant blow to the Pentagon.
U.S. Navy representatives stated that Iran obtained an outdated model of the unmanned submarine. However, Anduril positions the Dive-LD as the most reliable and versatile autonomous underwater vehicle in its class available on the market, capable of operating for up to ten days in difficult conditions.
Anduril Industries is an American defense technology company founded in 2017 that specializes in autonomous hardware, surveillance systems, and artificial intelligence software for military applications. The Pentagon, located in Arlington, Virginia, serves as the headquarters for the United States Department of Defense, overseeing American military branches including the U.S. Navy. Autonomous underwater vehicles are uncrewed submersibles designed to navigate deep ocean environments without a human crew, conducting intelligence gathering, surveillance, and undersea reconnaissance missions.
Reverse engineering past precedent
The potential copying of the Dive-LD submersible follows a historical precedent involving captured American military hardware. Reuters recalled that Iranian forces captured an American RQ-170 Sentinel stealth reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle in 2011.
Following the 2011 capture, Washington officially demanded that Tehran return the aircraft. Iran rejected the demand and later announced that it had conducted reverse engineering on the drone, subsequently presenting domestically produced models that appeared to borrow heavily from the American design.
The RQ-170 Sentinel is a stealth unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Lockheed Martin and operated by the United States Air Force for high-altitude intelligence gathering. Tehran, the capital city of Iran, has built an extensive military development sector aimed at inspecting foreign hardware to develop indigenous defense platforms. Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States and the center of its federal government.
Anduril underwater drone programs
The Dive-LD plays a central role in Anduril's expanding line of autonomous maritime systems. In April 2025, the American defense company introduced its Copperhead line of underwater drones, which use the Dive-LD and the larger Dive-XL submersibles as primary carrier vehicles.
In March, Anduril reported that it plans to manufacture an extra-large uncrewed submarine for the U.S. Navy as part of the Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform Project, known as CAMP. The company also manufactures drones currently utilized in strikes targeting Russia.
Uncrewed submarine carriers like the Dive-LD and Dive-XL allow military operators to deploy smaller secondary drones from undersea platforms, extending operational range during maritime missions. The Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform Project represents a U.S. Navy effort to integrate long-endurance autonomous vessels into naval fleet operations.
