US soldiers rescued by drone after Apache helicopter goes down near the coast of Oman

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.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that Iran downed the helicopter while it flew over the Strait of Hormuz.

“The United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” Trump said in an afternoon post on Truth Social.

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.

编者按：这是一则正在更新的新闻。

周一，一架美国陆军AH-64阿帕奇直升机在阿曼海岸附近坠毁，两名美国陆军士兵被无人机救出。这可能是美军首次使用无人船进行救援。

美国中央司令部发言人蒂姆·霍金斯上校周二在一份声明中表示：“昨晚在阿曼海岸附近协助营救阿帕奇直升机机组人员的水面无人机是美国海军的海盗式无人水面舰艇，由美国第五舰队第59特遣部队操作。”

“特遣部队从三月下旬开始在战区部署这些无人机，”他说。

根据另一份新闻稿，美军于美国东部时间晚上7点33分，在两小时内救出了机组人员。两名船员目前情况稳定。

据指挥部称，这架直升机当时正在“巡逻区域水域”，事故原因正在调查中。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周二声称，伊朗在霍尔木兹海峡上空击落了这架直升机。

“美国必须对此次袭击作出回应，”特朗普在下午发布于 Truth Social 的帖子中写道。

美国海军中央司令部（包括第 59 特遣部队和第 82 空降师）的海军力量主导了此次救援行动，空军也提供了协助。

第 59 特遣部队是美国海军驻巴林的部队，负责将人工智能和无人系统整合到美国第五舰队作战区域（包括霍尔木兹海峡）的海上行动中。

据其制造商 Saronic 公司称，Corsair 是一艘 24 英尺长的船，能够携带超过 1000 磅的重量航行 1000 海里。

伊芙·桑普森是一名记者，也是一名前陆军军官。她曾报道过世界各地的冲突，为《纽约时报》、《华盛顿邮报》和美联社撰稿。