A Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter is parked on a field during the 'Polish Apache Initiative 4 / European HIMARS Initiative 8' joint military exercise at a training ground in Kijewo, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, 28 May 2026. The drills focus on air-land integration, combining attack aviation with HIMARS rocket systems during unified fire-support training by allied forces from Poland, the United States, and the United Kingdom. EPA/Agnieszka Bielecka POLAND OUT By Phil Stewart and Jarrett Renshaw
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 U.S. and Iran have been in an uneasy ceasefire, with periodic clashes and Iranian drone and missile strikes on U.S. regional allies.
The U.S. military said the drone that carried out the rescue was a U.S. Navy Corsair, which manufacturer Saronic says on its website is a 24-foot (7.3-meter) autonomous surface vessel (ASV) capable of carrying up to 1,000 lbs (454 kg) over 1,000 nautical miles.
“The drone picked them up and transported them to another location on the water where they were hoisted up to a helicopter for further transport,” said Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesperson.
Hawkins said the drone was chosen for the mission due to its proximity and capability.
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, Gareth Jones, Nick Zieminski and Andrea Ricci )