Autonomous Corsair maritime drone rescues US military pilots after crash near Oman (Brandi Vincent, June 9, 2026, Defense Scoop)
“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,” Hawkins said.
In that rescue operation, he told DefenseScoop, the maritime drone picked the two pilots up “and transported them to another location on the water where they were then hoisted up to a helicopter for further transport.”
The Corsair is a 24-foot autonomous surface vessel (ASV) that’s designed for rugged, long-duration missions. The drones can operate at speeds greater than 35 knots and carry up to 1,000 lbs over 1,000 nautical miles, according to Saronic’s product specifications.