The United States is building up its military presence in the Strait of Hormuz through the use of unmanned underwater and surface vehicles and aircraft during patrols, the US Navy’s 5th Fleet said in a press release.
“Last month, naval forces in the Middle East region successfully integrated unmanned platforms with traditionally crewed ships and aircraft to conduct enhanced maritime security operations in the waters surrounding the Arabian Peninsula,” the press release said.
According to the press service, seven task forces of the US 5th Fleet integrated 12 different unmanned platforms with manned ships to track Iranian Navy and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy “ships and small boats over several days during routine patrols in and around the Strait of Hormuz.”
“This operation bolstered presence in and around a critical chokepoint,” the statement said claiming that in recent months Iran had unlawfully seized “internationally flagged merchant ships.”
Iran has always said that the presence of extra-regional states in the Persian Gulf has brought nothing but insecurity for the strategic region.