Navy drone rescues crew from US army helicopter that crashed near Hormuz

By Phil Stewart and Jarrett Renshaw

June 9 (Reuters) – In a first, a United States Navy drone found and rescued two crew from a U.S. Army Apache attack helicopter that went down in waters near Oman’s coast, the U.S. military told Reuters, and President Donald Trump said the pilots were “fine”.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said the AH-64 Apache went down at around 3 a.m. local time on Tuesday (2300 GMT on Monday) near the coast of Oman while patrolling regional waters.

It gave no reason for the crash. The United States and Iran have been in an uneasy ceasefire, with periodic clashes and Iranian drone and missile strikes on U.S. regional allies.

Central Command told Reuters the rescue was carried out by a drone but did not specify the model. The U.S. 5th Fleet’s Task Force 59, which operates in the region, is a dedicated unit for integrating unmanned systems and artificial intelligence with everyday maritime operations.

Speaking on the runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport before returning to Washington, Trump said there was “nobody injured”.

U.S. Central Command used more cautious language to describe the condition of the two, saying they were in stable condition.

“The soldiers were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition. The cause of the incident is under investigation,” it said in a statement.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington, additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Washington and Ruchika Khanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed and Gareth Jones)