WASHINGTON/ANKARA (Reuters) -- An unarmed Iranian drone flew directly over a U.S. aircraft carrier operating in international waters in the Gulf this month in a move that was "abnormal and unprofessional," the U.S. military said on Friday.
I can remember the days when U.S. Navy ships carried antiaircraft weapons.
Iranian state television said a surveillance drone flew over a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Gulf and took "precise" pictures during an Iranian naval drill on Friday.
But a U.S. Navy spokeswoman only confirmed an incident on Jan. 12, when an unarmed Iranian drone flew directly over the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman. She could not confirm if it was the same incident reported by Iranian media.
The Jan. 12 overflight took place the same day Iran detained 10 U.S. sailors who it said had entered Iranian territorial waters by mistake.
The drone initially flew towards the French carrier the Charles de Gaulle, and then flew directly over the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman, said the spokeswoman, Lieutenant Commander Nicole Schwegman, in an e-mailed statement. The U.S. carrier was not conducting flight operations at the time, Schwegman said.
"The UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) was unarmed and posed no risk to the carrier's flight operations," Schwegman said. "While the Iranian UAV's actions posed no danger to the ship, it was, however, abnormal and unprofessional." |