Al Arabiya , 21 December 2017— The US military captured an Iranian watercraft, known as Shark 33, in the Ras Isa marine dock near the port of Houthi-controlled Hodeidah, a US military source revealed in statements to CNN.
The source said that the captured watercraft has an autopilot guidance system which has been modified so the boat can on autopilot identify the biggest object, lock onto it and attack targets without the need for a crew on board to launch the attack.
He added that the US Defense Intelligence Agency is currently analyzing the guidance system’s circuit and already determined that the circuit boards were manufactured by an Iranian state sponsored electronics company, FHM electronicsboard, CNN reported.
The watercraft also carries a camera onboard which has already taken pictures of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy facility, the official told CNN. He added that it also carries a Farsi keyboard as well.
“Iran has provided increasingly strategic military support to the Houthis. The Emiratis have seized Iranian manufactured UAVs in Yemen. Iran has also provided explosive boats to the Houthis which the Houthis have already employed this year against the Saudi navy,” Commander William Marks, a spokesman for the Defense Intelligence Agency told CNN.
“We have indications that Iran is providing missile support to the Houthis in Yemen, which can only escalate the conflict further and impose a significant threat to regional security,” Marks added.
The watercraft was discovered days prior to the Houthi ballistic missile attack on Riyadh this past Tuesday.
