For the first time, a surface unmanned aircraft of the US Navy has found and rescued two crew members of a US attack helicopter “Apache“, which crashed in the waters off the coast of Oman, the US military reported, quoted by Reuters, writes BTA.
Earlier today, US President Donald Trump said that the helicopter pilots “are fine“.
The US Central Command announced that the “Apache“ went down around 3:00 a.m. (02:00 Bulgarian time) today off the coast of Oman while on patrol in regional waters.
The cause of the crash was not given.
Iran and the United States are in an unstable truce, accompanied by periodic clashes and Iranian attacks with drones and missiles against American allies in the region, Reuters reports.
Central Command said the rescue operation was carried out by a drone, but did not specify its model. The US Fifth Fleet's Special Operations Group 59, which operates in the region, was created to integrate unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into daily naval operations.
Trump said that “there were no casualties“ shortly before departing for Washington from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
U.S. Central Command used more cautious language, saying the two service members were in stable condition.
“The service members were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition. The cause of the incident is under investigation at this time,“ it added.