The Pentagon said on Thursday that the United States has deployed uncrewed drone speedboats for patrols as part of its operations against Iran, Reuters reported. This is the first time Washington has confirmed using such vessels in an active conflict.
The deployment of the vessels, which can be used for surveillance or kamikaze strikes, has not been previously reported.
Uncrewed vessels have risen to prominence in recent years after Ukraine used explosive laden speedboats to inflict significant damage on Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
Iran has used sea drones to attack oil tankers in the Gulf at least twice since the United States and Israel began strikes nearly a month ago. There was no indication the United States had used uncrewed vessels for offensive strikes.
In response to Reuters questions, Tim Hawkins, a Pentagon spokesperson for Central Command, said unmanned vessels built by Maryland based BlackSea, known as the Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft, or GARC, had been used for patrols as part of the United States campaign against Iran, dubbed Operation Epic Fury.
"US forces continue to employ unmanned systems in the Middle East region, including surface drone assets like the GARC. This platform, in particular, has successfully logged over 450 underway hours and more than 2,200 nautical miles during maritime patrols in support of Operation Epic Fury," Hawkins said in a statement.
Hawkins declined to name any of the other unmanned systems being deployed.
Reuters noted that the United States has for years been trying to build a fleet of autonomous uncrewed surface and underwater vessels as a cheaper and faster alternative to manned ships and submarines, particularly to counter China's growing naval power in the Pacific. The effort, however, has fallen behind schedule and been dogged by technical problems, cost concerns and a series of testing setbacks.
In recent weeks, during another failed test in the Middle East, one GARC boat became inoperable, according to a source who was briefed on the matter.
Hawkins declined to comment on the testing setbacks and would only say, "The GARC is an emerging capability and part of a fleet of surface drones operated by US 5th Fleet to enhance awareness of what's happening in regional waters."
Meanwhile on Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced that he would be pausing planned strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for another 10 days as negotiations continue, setting a new deadline of April 6.
"As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The President added that "talks are ongoing" and claimed they are progressing positively "despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others."
Speaking about the decision in an interview with Fox News later on Thursday, Trump said Iranian officials had requested more time through intermediaries ahead of a potential escalation, and that he agreed to extend a deadline from seven to 10 days.
“They asked for seven, and I gave them 10," he said, adding that talks were ongoing and “going fairly well."
Earlier, Trump commented on the progress of Operation Epic Fury at a cabinet meeting, saying, "Over the past three weeks, we’ve been hitting Iran's military capabilities at a level that few people have ever seen before. It's a display of force and precision and skill like nothing the world has really witnessed."
"We're crushing their missile and drone stockpiles, destroying their defense industrial base, we've wiped out their navy completely, their air force completely. We've wiped out a large percentage of their missiles and missile launchers. Without the launchers, the missiles don't do any good. We've wiped out probably close to 90 percent of the launchers [and] probably, more than 90 percent of the missiles themselves," he added. "We've also destroyed a lot of the factories where they manufactured the drones and the missiles."
Trump further stated that Iran is "begging to make a deal, not me. They're begging to make a deal. And anyone who saw what was happening over there would understand why they want to make a deal."
He also stated that Iran's representatives are lying when they deny that talks are taking place, adding that Iran should have made a deal long before the current conflict.