Iran Captures Anduril 3D-Printed Underwater Drone Near Strait of Hormuz

What happened

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy says it captured an advanced American unmanned underwater vehicle near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media identified the vessel as an Anduril Dive-LD autonomous undersea vehicle. The IRGC called it a prize and said images would be released. The US military has not confirmed the seizure publicly.

A Centcom spokesperson said US operations in area waters continue. Defense news outlets note the vessel was likely already disabled or drifting before Iran recovered it, which reduces the immediate tactical loss.

What the Dive-LD is

The Dive-LD is about 5.8 meters long and two meters in diameter, weighing close to three metric tons. It can stay at sea for roughly ten days and dive to 6,000 meters. Anduril built it with open interfaces and modular payload bays for intelligence, surveillance, mine countermeasures, and seabed inspection.

The design uses additive manufacturing for its free-flooded hull, which Anduril says allows rapid integration of different sensors and effectors. The 3D-printed structure is not just a detail. It is the reason the company could iterate quickly on a system that costs around 2.5 million dollars per unit. The Navy first received Dive-LD deliveries in April 2025 under the Replicator program, and Anduril is scaling production toward 200 units per year in Rhode Island.

Why the 3D-printed hull matters here

If Iran has the wreckage, engineers now have a physical example of how Anduril integrates sensors into a large composite pressure hull. Reverse engineering a free-flooded AUV is not the same as reverse engineering a jet engine, but it still shortens the timeline for local production. Iran has already weaponized underwater drones and supplied designs to the Houthi movement. A captured Dive-LD would be a significant upgrade over those systems.

The broader risk is proliferation. If Iran shares details with Russia or China, those partners get a look at how a defense startup uses additive manufacturing to produce large underwater vehicles at scale.

What comes next

The US has not acknowledged losing the system, which suggests the incident is still being sorted out. Expect sanctions discussions to follow if Iran releases technical details or imagery of the recovered hull. For the additive manufacturing industry, the story is a reminder that large-format 3D printing is now inside the supply chain for some of the most sensitive military hardware on earth.