US military backs claim that Iranian UAV hit tanker

An image released by the US Navy's 5th Fleet shows some of the parts of Shahed-136 that were recovered from Pacific Zircon . (US 5th Fleet)

The US Navy's 5th Fleet released evidence to support its assertion that an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was used to attack a tanker in the north of the Arabian Sea on 15 November.

“The aerial drone that hit the commercial tanker was identified as a Shahed-136 UAV, fitting a historical pattern of Iran's increasing use of a lethal capability directly or through its proxies across the Middle East,” it said in a 22 November statement.

It released an image of the UAV remnants recovered after the attack and a diagram of the aircraft showing where several parts come from. Most of the components looked similar to ones used by smaller Shahed-131s recovered in Ukraine with the exception of a vertical stabiliser that is unique to the larger model.

The day after the attack, which caused no casualties, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said an examination of the debris on the tanker showed it was hit by a Shahed-series UAV, while Israeli sources were more specific, saying it was a Shahed-136.

The latest CENTCOM statement also provided details of the damage the UAV inflicted on the tanker, saying it left a 76 cm-wide hole in the stern of its hull and damaged a boiler, water tank, and liferaft.

On the same day, the Conflict Armament Research (CAR) group released a report on UAVs it had examined in Ukraine, including a Shahed-131, two Shahed-136s, and one Mohajer-6 that was carrying a Qaem-5 guided bomb.