According to sources familiar with the Pentagon, American boxers deployed electronic measures to dismantle drones that the United States claims are operated by the Iranian military. The Navy said the drone was destroyed in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after approaching the ship and ignoring repeated warnings.
Iran denied the U.S. request and said it would consider all its drones-a U.S. ship may accidentally shoot down one of its own military drones.
US Department of Defense officials who have not been granted the right to speak publicly say that when drones pass through narrow waterways near the Iranian coast, it is one of several threats to boxers. It is said that at least one Iranian helicopter and several speedboats approached the ship on Thursday morning. The action prompted the boxer to send a helicopter and then fly side by side with the Iranian aircraft to repel him.
The source said that the ships eventually followed the radio warning to break contact, but the drones moved towards the boxer instead of turning. His arrival was seen as a potential threat to the flight operations on the amphibious assault ship, which carried many helicopters, Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and a few fighter jets.
There are also concerns that drones may pose a direct threat: In recent months, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have used drones to drop explosives at targets in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. According to Pentagon sources, the drone was unarmed in Thursday’s encounter.
The first US statement regarding the boxer incident did not contain any detailed information about the drone crash. On Friday, a Pentagon official clarified that boxers are using electronic jamming measures to shut down drones. The official did not provide detailed information so as not to disclose information about the ship’s capabilities.
The news website pointed out that the new Marine Corps anti-UAV system was the cause of the Iranian drone crash, although the military did not confirm the report. USNI News noted that the Navy had previously announced that the Marine Corps was using drone jammer on the deck of US ships. USNI News described this weapon as one of a new "non-powered system" that could cause the drone to crash.
President Trump announced the crash for the first time on Thursday afternoon, stating that “the drone was immediately destroyed” after shutting the boxer within 1,000 meters and ignoring the request for resignation.
Shortly after Trump’s testimony, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman (Jonathan Hoffman) provided more details, stating that a drone approached the navy ship at 10 a.m. local time when the ship was in international waters and In "Entry Road Transit", von Hormuz "navigates".
However, Trump said on Friday that the U.S. spacecraft had shot down the drone, contradicting reports by Pentagon officials that the boxer was using jamming features. According to the White House summary report, Trump said in the Oval Office: "There is no doubt." He added: "We shot it down."
When asked if he was worried about a major conflict with Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, the summary report quoted Trump as saying: "No, not at all... We hope they will not do anything stupid to them. When they did this, the price they paid was unprecedented."
Also on Friday, a senior Trump administration official said that the U.S. government has evidence that the boxer destroyed the drone, and that more information about the shutdown will come from the Pentagon.
The official told reporters on Friday: “We have very clear evidence that the Ministry of Defense has issued a statement about the Boxer’s operations.” “Iranians don’t have a good story about the truth. We are very confident in the president’s announcement.”
When asked whether the Trump administration will take further action against Iran, the official said that the United States is ready to defend itself.
The officer said: "It's your drone approaching our ship. If you continue to do so, if you fly too close to our ship, you will be shot down."
U.S. military officials say that Iranian helicopters and drones often fly close to U.S. ships when they cross the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
According to these officials, in an incident that began in August 2017, an American ship was harassed by an Iranian drone flying near the ship during night flight. No shots were fired, but the encounter was classified as "obviously unsafe".