On August 6th, the US Central Command released an investigative report on the tanker "Mercer Street" that was attacked off the coast of Oman on July 29th. Fragments of the suicide drone were recovered from the damaged tanker, and from the shape of the parts, it was concluded that they were the same parts as the Iranian suicide drone.
The attack was first carried out twice on the night of July 29th, but it ended in failure, and on July 30th, a drone crashed into the bridge ceiling and exploded, killing two sailors. doing.
U.S. Central Command Statement on the Investigation into the Attack on the Motor Tanker Mercer Street - USCENTCOM
The author also recognizes the shape of this vertical tail. The shape is very similar to the vertical stabilizer (or rather, the vertical stabilizer because it does not have a moving blade) of the Iranian-made new drone "Wa'id" announced by the Yemeni Houthi rebels in March of this year. It is.
[Reference] Technical evaluation of Houthi Iranian delta-wing drone “Wide” (March 12, 2021)
However, the "Wide" suicide drone announced at this time does not have an optical camera, and can only aim at fixed targets with GPS guidance flying to specified coordinates, so it is not possible to aim at moving targets on the ocean. An optical camera would be required for precision targeting of a tanker's bridge, so it's possible that there are variants out there with improved optical image guidance.
Alternatively, knowing that there is a possibility of accidentally detonating an unrelated ship nearby, it is also possible that a passive radar-guided suicide drone was flown into the vicinity of the bridge equipped with a surface radar. increase.
The white part in the photo on the left is the vertical tail (vertical stabilizer) part of the suicide drone recovered from "Mercer Street", and the black aircraft in the photo on the right was shot down and recovered in Malibu, Yemen in 2020. Remains of a Houthi Iranian delta-wing drone.
This black aircraft is smaller than the "Wide", but the main wing is the same delta wing, and the shape and mounting position of the vertical tail is very similar, so technically it seems to be a brother aircraft of the same lineage. . The drone that attacked the Saudi oil facilities in 2019 was also a delta wing.
The attack on "Mercer Street" was carried out with this family of Iranian-made delta-wing drones. However, it is presumed that a new model equipped with a sensor capable of anti-ship attack, which has not yet been confirmed, was introduced.
[Related] Drone attack on tanker off Oman, 2 dead
On August 6th, the G7 (Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada) issued a joint statement, accusing Iran of being the culprit of the "Mercer Street" attack. bottom.