(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump announced on Thursday a permanent pick to head the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, after the uproar over his temporary pick risked derailing the renewal of a key surveillance law.

Trump said that he is nominating the current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton to head the intelligence agency. 

“I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible,” Trump wrote in a social media post.

Trump’s announcement comes after both the House and Senate earlier Thursday failed to pass extensions of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is set to expire at the end of the day Friday.

The reauthorization of the spy program was muddied by Trump’s choice of Bill Pulte to serve as acting director after Tulsi Gabbard announced her resignation. Pulte drew bipartisan concern on Capitol Hill over his lack of previous experience in national security and intelligence. 

ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott asked Trump on Thursday about Pulte continuing to serve as acting director given his lack of intelligence experience.

“He’s only there for a little while. He’s running it for a short while we get a very talented person, Jay Clayton, in,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

Apart from the national security cases he oversaw while serving as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Clayton also lacks experience in intelligence gathering and national security matters. 

Clayton spent the bulk of his career as a corporate attorney, and prior to his appointment as U.S. attorney last year, lacked meaningful experience in criminal matters. 

He has spent the last year overseeing one of the country’s highest profile federal prosecutor’s offices — focusing on drugs, gangs, immigration and fraud cases — and was also tapped to lead an investigation that Trump directly called for into high-profile Democrats such Bill Clinton, Larry Summers and Reid Hoffman’s alleged associations with Epstein. Nothing appears to have resulted from that investigation, and earlier this year acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department did not have any active cases into Epstein associates. 

Clayton also oversaw the unsealing of grand jury materials related to Epstein, prompting complaints from victims about the disclosure of their sensitive personal information. The Justice Department’s push to unseal those materials resulted in little new information about the investigations into Epstein and was criticized by judges as a largely performative effort while the DOJ refused to release their own materials. 

Clayton’s office has brought the first two prosecutions of insider trading on prediction markets, including cases against a special forces soldier and Google employee, putting his office at the center of the debate about how to govern the sites that critics say are rife with insider trading. 

Clayton was never confirmed by the Senate as U.S. attorney, though his nomination was approved by the federal judges in the district and was seen by many as a steady hand to lead the high-profile office. He was, however, the subject of criticism earlier this week when he appeared on CNBC and opined about baseless claims of election fraud in California. 

“There’s a great phrase, ‘opportunity for fraud,'” Clayton said, criticizing the state’s mail-in voting laws.  

Clayton spent most of his career at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, where he represented hedge funds, wealthy investors, large banks and massive corporations such as Deutsche Bank, UBS and Alibaba Group. Clayton represented Goldman Sachs during the 2008 financial crisis and Barclays when it purchased Lehman Brothers’ assets out of bankruptcy.

During Trump’s first administration, Clayton led the SEC, cracking down on cryptocurrencies and winning $14 billion in monetary remedies, including returning $3.5 billion to investors. While he championed the “long-term interests of the Main Street investor,” Clayton also pushed deregulations — such as removing the requirement that hedge funds publish stock positions and loosening the rules for corporate auditors — that critics said weakened investor protections. 

While Clayton generally avoided the political spotlight while at the SEC, a June 2020 proposal to nominate Clayton to serve as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York briefly resulted in political turmoil. The sitting U.S. attorney, Geoffrey Berman, refused to leave his post after then-Attorney General Bill Barr announced he would be replaced by Clayton. The standoff was resolved with Berman’s deputy taking over the position, and Clayton continued to lead the SEC. 

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(WASHINGTON) — Soon after President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday that the United States has been secretly ferrying “millions of barrels” of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump announced on social media that “more than 100 MILLION Barrels of Oil” and “more than 200 Commercial Ships” have successfully traveled through the strait.

“Last month, I directed our Great U.S. Military to execute a secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.

“Today, I am pleased to announce that this effort has resulted in more than 100 MILLION Barrels of Oil making its way through the Straight, and into the Open Market. More than 200 Commercial Ships have safely traveled through the Strait.”

The president referred to it as a “secret mission” that he says was conducted last month amid the ongoing war with Iran, which has led the strait to be closed to regular commercial shipping.

ABC News could not immediately verify the accuracy of Trump’s claims and the numbers of oil barrels and ships that he claims have passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier Wednesday, in the Oval Office, Trump alluded to apparent U.S. operations to stimulate shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with Trump claiming that the U.S. recently “took” 22 ships, amounting to millions of barrels of oil, through the strait. 

“Do you know, we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil? Nobody knows it. You know who doesn’t know about it? Iran, until right now. We took out the other night 22 ships late at night with no lights, because they don’t have any radar, because we blasted the crap out of it,” Trump said.

In his post Wednesday afternoon, Trump referred to the alleged operation as a “wildly successful effort” that is due to the U.S. blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. 

“This wildly successful effort is because the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran,” Trump wrote. 

Since last month, there have been reports of the U.S. Navy helping ships navigate through the Strait of Hormuz — though U.S. officials have said that the efforts have not been a revival of Project Freedom, the short-lived U.S. military initiative to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump announced Project Freedom in early May — pausing the effort just two days later.

Rather, this most recent effort was a coordination effort where shippers could contact U.S. Central Command and in turn, receive information about where to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a U.S. official.

The coordination effort was first reported by The New York Times.

ABC News confirmed the Times’ report that, as of late last month, approximately 70 commercial ships had been guided through the strait. In addition to the U.S. coordinating safe passageways, the Times reported that many of the vessels traveling through the strait had turned off their transponders to “avoid detection.”

During the Oval Office event earlier Wednesday afternoon, Trump had also indicated that he was choosing to reveal this “secret” mission now because the Iranians had “figured it out.”

“But now I’m going to tell you, because they just figured it out. So now that they figured it out, I can tell you it was very hard for me. I wanted to say it so bad, but it was. I didn’t want to ruin it, but it was very hard,” Trump said. 

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(WASHINGTON) — To complete Donald Trump’s “Triumphal Arch” by the time he leaves office, the National Park Service plans to have construction take place 20 hours per day over the next two to three years, according to planning documents released by the Department of the Interior. 

The National Park Service last week released designs, renderings and reports related to the planned arch as it seeks public comment about the controversial addition to the D.C. skyline. 

“Because the Arch is intended to celebrate 250 years of American independence. … smaller heights were not considered representative of this milestone, unlike the 250-foot Arch proposed in the undertaking,” one of the reports said about the size of the project.

The project is being challenged in federal court, though lawsuits challenging the arch, and other projects like Trump’s White House Ballroom, planned golf course renovations and the repainting and sealing of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool have so far been unsuccessful in stopping work.

Current designs call for the massive arch to be constructed out of concrete and clad with U.S.-sourced granite — a departure from some of the older D.C. monuments which are constructed from marble or limestone. According to planning documents, construction workers will require multiple cranes up to 320-feet tall — taller than the U.S. Capitol building — and other heavy construction equipment, including concrete pumps, forklifts, skid steers and other tools. 

Because the monument will sit near the complicated flight paths for D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), architects included “aviation required safety lighting” into the design of the arch, using the “least intrusive technology available” to minimize light pollution, according to planning documents.

The FAA recently completed a feasibility study about the arch and concluded it would have “no significant adverse effect on airspace and visual/instrument procedures” for the airport and that it would only require red obstruction lights.

“Career safety experts found no adverse impacts to operations at DCA. Their review determined the only requirement would be the top of the structure would need to be lit with red obstruction lights — a common safety tool,” an FAA spokesperson said in a statement, adding that it will next conduct a full aeronautical study with the National Park Service.

According to the documents, the project will include seven phases of construction over a two-to-three-year period. After workers excavate the site, construction would involve about five months of “continuous heavy equipment operations” to drive the foundation system down about 75 feet to bedrock. The NPS report estimated that removing material for the foundation would require about 30 trucks to move 100 loads of soil per day for months. 

Once the foundation is completed, workers plan to spend about 10 months constructing the primary concrete structure of the arch and then affix granite panels to the concrete.  

“Work would occur year-round, with work occurring in two 10-hour shifts per day (20 hours per day, year-round) for the duration of the construction period,” a NPS report said. 

Around the same timeframe, construction workers will begin to assemble the inner structure of the arch, including stairs, elevators, roofing, plumbing, and electrical work. After about two years of work, plans call for a 300-foot mobile crane to be used to install a gold statue atop the arch. 

The National Park Service said the construction would likely result in significant traffic disruptions around the Arlington Memorial Bridge. 

The design for the arch has not yet been approved by the National Capital Planning Commission. During a hearing last week, the commission asked the Trump administration to address a series of issues with their design, though Trump falsely claimed the design had been approved. 

A group of Vietnam veterans also sued over the arch earlier this year and are asking a federal judge to block the construction, arguing the arch should be approved by Congress. 

“With every passing day, Defendants’ arch moves closer to construction,” they wrote in a recent court filing. 

The Trump administration has argued that a 100-year-old statute related to the building of the nearby Arlington Memorial Bridge authorizes construction of the arch. Department of Justice lawyers have also argued that the plaintiffs lack standing and that the lawsuit is premature. 

“Forcing such disclosures of internal deliberations — before NPS has concluded its decision-making process — would ‘wreak havoc’ on the Executive Branch,” DOJ lawyers wrote in a court filing. 

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(WASHINGTON) — Closely watched primaries in four states on Tuesday showed a resounding victory for a Democrat who was facing some controversies but amassed much popular support, the continued strength of President Donald Trump’s endorsement, and set up a key governor’s race in November.

Here are some takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries:

Platner triumphant in Maine even amid controversies

Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran, is slated to take on longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November’s general election for the U.S. Senate in Maine, romping to victory in the primary even amid multiple controversies.

That included a late-breaking controversy from a New York Times report last Thursday that some of the Army veteran’s former girlfriends said that his actions could be “intimidating and disturbing.”

Platner denied allegations of being physically intimidating towards former partners, and said after the story broke that he had been open to Mainers about his past, and that it had never crossed his mind to drop out of the race.

Tuesday night’s results showed Maine Democrats rallying behind Platner, as he romped to a projected victory in the primary with almost 75% of the vote as of late Tuesday. While Maine Gov. Janet Mills was also on the ballot, she had suspended her campaign weeks ago and appeared on track to get less than a fifth of the vote.

“Over the last nine months I have seen Mainers come together behind a vision to take back our power from corporations and billionaires,” Platner told supporters on Tuesday night.

Platner’s win gives Democrats an everyman candidate who has been able to attract huge crowds and support.

But he and other Democrats now face months of a general election campaign where Republicans say they will bring up Platner’s controversies every chance they get, both to strike at Platner and to hound Democrats over supporting someone who the GOP says goes against values Democrats claim to support.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), for instance, shared a digital ad right as polls closed in Maine that called Collins “a senator we can be proud of” and portrayed Platner as out-of-touch and scandal-ridden.

But Platner will have the Democratic establishment backing him, too. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, both of New York, wrote on Tuesday night, “Over the past year, we have created a path to win a Democratic Senate majority and put a stop to the chaos and damage of the Trump administration by defeating the Republicans who enable his harmful agenda. … In November, Maine voters will elect Graham Platner, and we will win a Senate majority.”

Trump candidate advances in South Carolina while one who defied him doesn’t

Most of the U.S. House and governor candidates Trump endorsed in the 2026 cycle have won their primaries, even when Trump endorsed against established incumbents. In South Carolina’s Republican primary for governor, Trump’s endorsement was again on the ballot, as the president had endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette — snubbing two U.S. representatives running for the seat, Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman.

And the power of Trump’s endorsement was borne out again, to an extent, as ABC News projected that Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson will advance to a June 23 runoff in the Republican governor’s primary.

While Trump’s endorsed candidate did not win outright, that might not be a shock, given the sheer number of prominent candidates running and South Carolina’s runoff rules, in which the top two candidates go to a runoff if no one gets more than half of the vote.

Mace, who overall is a staunch supporter of the president, had voted for the release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in defiance of Trump’s wishes. Some observers had seen Trump’s snub of Mace’s gubernatorial bid as another example of his political vengeance against lawmakers who opposed him, although Trump did not mention Mace in his endorsement of Evette.

“I voted to release the Epstein files and lost some support for that,” Mace said during remarks on Tuesday night, where she conceded the gubernatorial race without mentioning Trump.

Evette, on the campaign trail, had promoted her own conservative bona fides and strongly pushed for the state to redraw its congressional districts, a move Republican state legislators ended up rejecting.

A toss-up match set for governor in Nevada

While the candidates who won Nevada’s primaries for governor were not surprising in and of themselves, the results on Tuesday set up what’s likely going to be one of the most closely watched gubernatorial elections this fall.

Republican incumbent Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is running for a second term and has Trump’s endorsement, cruised to a projected victory in his primary, while Democrats nominated Aaron Ford, the state’s Attorney General, as their candidate.

Democrats have said they think Lombardo is the most vulnerable governor up for reelection during the 2026 cycle. They’ve argued that voters impacted by rising prices and Latino voters in the state who are souring on the Trump administration will turn against him.

Republicans, meanwhile, have argued that Lombardo is the best choice to continue leading the Silver State. The Nevada Republican Party wrote in September that Lombardo “has shown he’s a true champion for Nevada families and our conservative values. As Sheriff, he kept our communities safe, and now as Governor, he’s battling against the Democrats’ radical agenda.”

The Cook Political Report rates the seat as “Toss Up,” meaning it could be anyone’s game come November.

ABC News’ Jared Kofsky, Clarissa Gonzalez, and Juhi Doshi contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department on Tuesday urged a federal judge to reject a lawsuit seeking to stop the White House’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event scheduled for this weekend, attacking its plaintiffs as “two people who believe they have superior taste and want to spoil the event for everyone else.”

In a filing Tuesday evening, the department argued the lawsuit brought by two Virginia residents lacks any reasonable standing while describing the timing of the filing as “inexcusable” given the event was first announced nearly a year ago.

“It would be easy enough to simply avert their gazes for the weekend.  Instead, they seek to enlist the power of a federal court to impose their idiosyncratic preferences on the rest of the country and ruin an event designed to celebrate the United States of America,” the department said. “No one is holding Plaintiffs in a jiu jitsu lock, forcing them to watch UFC Freedom 250 against their will. The public interest does not favor allowing them to exercise a heckler’s veto, particularly at this late date.”

In a lawsuit filed this weekend, the Public Integrity Project — representing a political activist and Vietnam veteran — claimed the event was improperly permitted, skipped an environmental review, and is an extraordinary use of public land to benefit President Donald Trump and his allies.

Calling the event “deeply corrupt,” the lawsuit alleged that the Trump administration improperly used a temporary rule for “America 250” to bypass the permitting requirements normally required to host events on National Park Service land. They argue that because the event is being organized by a private entity, not the federal government, and is not explicitly “for the celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence,” the fight does not qualify for that temporary rule.

In its filing, the Trump administration described the UFC fight as “one of the most highly anticipated events” in a series of others intended to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States, at one point likening it to the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn and the Congressional Picnic.

At the same time, the filing highlights the extraordinary collaboration between the government and the UFC in preparing for the event, citing “well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor” that “have been expended” in order to carry it out.

“More than 4,000 spectators are expected to attend on the South Lawn, including more than 1,000 members of our armed services, and more than 120,000 visitors are expected to watch from the nearby Ellipse after winning free tickets in a lottery,” the filing said. “Fourteen world-class athletes, who have been training for months, have traveled from all over the world to compete (including for two world championships).”

The filing continued: “All these hopes could be dashed at the very last moment, however, by the whim of two people who believe they have superior taste and want to spoil the event for everyone else.”

The government has informed the judge overseeing the case, Amit Mehta, that counsel is available on Thursday in the event he wishes to schedule oral arguments.

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(WASHINGTON) — Nevada’s gubernatorial primary has resulted in a face-off between incumbent Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and Democratic nominee Attorney General Aaron Ford and the race is indicative of whether GOP governors in battleground states can survive while distancing themselves from President Donald Trump’s low approval ratings, a dynamic with implications for 2028.

Economic anxiety, conflict overseas, a polarizing mass deportation program and low approval ratings for the president might become headwinds for Lombardo, despite a Republican presidential candidate carrying the state for the first time in two decades in 2024.    

Nevada offers a particularly revealing test case: a tourism-heavy economy, a working-class Latino electorate and an expanding bloc of nonpartisan voters. Since Lombardo’s 2022 victory, registered independents have surged in the state.

Las Vegas tourism fell 7.5% last year, while unemployment remains among the nation’s highest.

Asked whether he can guarantee unemployment will fall, Lombardo said in a statement that since he took office, “… Inflation has come down, wages are rising, housing prices are stabilizing, and Nevada leads the nation in post pandemic job creation, as well as both small business and wage growth.”

His supporters have pointed to his work on the state’s education system.

“The governor has worked to bridge the gap in per pupil spending with several billion dollars in funding without raising taxes, as well as open enrollment, more school choice, and accountability reforms,” John Burke, spokesman for a pro-Lombardo PAC, said. “We’re already seeing results, graduation rates are growing and students are getting the resources they need to succeed.”

Ford, who was a single father in college relying on food stamps and Medicaid, said he’s focused on affordability.

“Nevadans …  cannot afford a home, they cannot afford health care, they can’t afford gas, they can’t afford groceries, and it’s all this Lombardo-Trump economy doesn’t work for the working people, it’s working for this billionaire class,” Ford said in an interview with ABC News.

Ford has been endorsed by former Vice President Kamala Harris and Nevada’s Democratic congressional delegation.

“He’s battled fentanyl being trafficked across our southern border, gone after fraudulent landlords who are jacking up prices on working families, and won more than $1 billion in settlements from taking on big drug companies,” said Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., in a statement to ABC News.

Lombardo, a former Clark County sheriff endorsed by Trump, said in a KLAS interview that Nevadans may need to “feel a little pain” over Trump’s tariff policies to see job growth — a line Democrats have campaigned on.

“[Trump] ran on it, he was very vocal about it and very transparent about it in how he was going to accomplish that,” Lombardo said last year. “So, I think we maybe need to feel a little pain in the short term and hopefully in the long-term it’s a huge benefit for us.”

Ford has taken the Trump administration to court more than 40 times, including over tariffs.

“I sued up those tariffs, I won, and I’m not going to stop until Nevadans get the $1,700 of stolen money out of the pockets they had to pay in extra taxes because of those tariffs,” Ford said.

Peter Guzman, president of Nevada’s Latin Chamber of Commerce, told ABC News that Lombardo had conversations with the White House that resulted in Nevada avoiding large-scale immigration raids.

“We’ve been able to prevent any kind of chaos when it comes to ICE, because of his relationships, not only with Trump administration, but also because of his years in law enforcement,” Guzman said.

Nevada Republicans have criticized Ford for spending at least 322 days out of state, mostly attending professional conferences, according to a Nevada Independent review of his calendar. GOP campaign ads have branded him “high-flying Aaron Ford.”

Ford called the attacks “juvenile” and said working with attorneys general nationwide helped “address issues that transcend state borders.”

In 2022, Lombardo ousted incumbent Democrat Gov. Steve Sisolak by just 1.5%.

“The average election in Nevada is often decided by a very narrow margin. Both parties have their constituencies, but there’s a group in the middle that decides these races and the best candidate will earn those voters,” Burke said.

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(WASHINGTON) — U.S. military officials said Tuesday that an unmanned drone boat rescued two crew members aboard a U.S. Army Apache attack helicopter that crashed in the waters nears the Strait of Hormuz, which President Donald Trump said Iranians shot down.

U.S. officials are describing the rescue as the first time that an unmanned surface drone has been used to successfully rescue crew members at sea.

The AH-64 helicopter crashed at 7:33 p.m. EDT on Monday, leaving the pilots in the waters off Oman, according to U.S. Central Command.

“The Soldiers were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition,” according to a CENTCOM statement.

The Navy surface drone — described by a U.S. official as looking like a speedboat — located the two Apache crew members, who were then able to board the vessel, which transported them to another location on that water where they were then hoisted up to a helicopter for further transport, according to a U.S. official.

“The surface drone that assisted in last night’s rescue of the Apache crew off the coast of Oman was a U.S. Navy Corsair unmanned surface vessel operated by U.S. 5th Fleet’s Task Force 59. The task force began fielding these drones in theater in late March,” said Capt. Tim Hawkins, the spokesman for U.S. Central Command.

Trump said Tuesday afternoon that the military informed him Iran was to blame for the helicopter crash, vowing that the U.S. must “respond to this attack.”

ABC News has reached out to the White House on whether the weekslong shaky ceasefire with Iran is now over.

What is Task Force 59?

Task Force 59 operates a variety of autonomous surface drones in the waters of the Middle East, as well as aerial drones. The task force, established in 2021, uses its unmanned drones to provide quick reconnaissance capabilities and integrate artificial intelligence to share with crewed warships operating in the region, according to the Navy.

With not enough manned vessels to maintain a constant awareness of what is going on in the Middle East’s waters, the drones enhance the 5th Fleet’s capabilities to detect smuggling and Iranian malign activity, Navy officials said.

“For pennies on the dollar we can put unmanned platforms out there, we can couple it with artificial intelligence … and then, I think critically important, we can use our manned ships much more efficiently, much more effectively,” then-5th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Brad Cooper told reporters in October 2022 following a regional exercise to highlight the task force’s capabilities. Cooper is now serving as the commander of U.S. Central Command.

The cost for the boat drone used to rescue the Apache crew is estimateed to be about $1.2 million per drone, according to a report from Sacra, a market research firm. That cost is extraordinarily cheap relative to traditional, manned military vessels.

Artificial intelligence is used to analyze patterns of behavior detected by the sensors aboard the drones, which is then shared with commanders and ships operating in the region.

In addition to the Corsair used in the operation, Task Force 59 uses other notable unmanned surface drones including the T-38 Devil Ray and the Sail Drone.

The Devil Ray is a high-speed autonomously operated unmanned surface vessel that is mainly used to gather intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, according to its manufacturer.

In one exercise in 2024, it successfully fired live munitions at a training target.

The Sail Drone looks just like its name implies, it is an autonomous water platform topped by a sail that provides power through wind and solar energy, according to its manufacturer.

A network of Sail Drones can provide a clearer at-sea situational awareness in hostile environments, according to its manufacturer.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. military officials said Tuesday that an unmanned drone boat rescued two crew members aboard a U.S. Army Apache attack helicopter that crashed in the waters nears the Strait of Hormuz, which President Donald Trump said Iranians shot down.

U.S. officials are describing the rescue as the first time that an unmanned surface drone has been used to successfully rescue crew members at sea.

The AH-64 helicopter crashed at 7:33 p.m. EDT on Monday, leaving the pilots in the waters off Oman, according to U.S. Central Command.

“The Soldiers were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition,” according to a CENTCOM statement.

The Navy surface drone — described by a U.S. official as looking like a speedboat — located the two Apache crew members, who were then able to board the vessel, which transported them to another location on that water where they were then hoisted up to a helicopter for further transport, according to a U.S. official.

“The surface drone that assisted in last night’s rescue of the Apache crew off the coast of Oman was a U.S. Navy Corsair unmanned surface vessel operated by U.S. 5th Fleet’s Task Force 59. The task force began fielding these drones in theater in late March,” said Capt. Tim Hawkins, the spokesman for U.S. Central Command.

Trump said Tuesday afternoon that the military informed him Iran was to blame for the helicopter crash, vowing that the U.S. must “respond to this attack.”

ABC News has reached out to the White House on whether the weekslong shaky ceasefire with Iran is now over.

What is Task Force 59?

Task Force 59 operates a variety of autonomous surface drones in the waters of the Middle East, as well as aerial drones. The task force, established in 2021, uses its unmanned drones to provide quick reconnaissance capabilities and integrate artificial intelligence to share with crewed warships operating in the region, according to the Navy.

With not enough manned vessels to maintain a constant awareness of what is going on in the Middle East’s waters, the drones enhance the 5th Fleet’s capabilities to detect smuggling and Iranian malign activity, Navy officials said.

“For pennies on the dollar we can put unmanned platforms out there, we can couple it with artificial intelligence … and then, I think critically important, we can use our manned ships much more efficiently, much more effectively,” then-5th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Brad Cooper told reporters in October 2022 following a regional exercise to highlight the task force’s capabilities. Cooper is now serving as the commander of U.S. Central Command.

The cost for the boat drone used to rescue the Apache crew is estimateed to be about $1.2 million per drone, according to a report from Sacra, a market research firm. That cost is extraordinarily cheap relative to traditional, manned military vessels.

Artificial intelligence is used to analyze patterns of behavior detected by the sensors aboard the drones, which is then shared with commanders and ships operating in the region.

In addition to the Corsair used in the operation, Task Force 59 uses other notable unmanned surface drones including the T-38 Devil Ray and the Sail Drone.

The Devil Ray is a high-speed autonomously operated unmanned surface vessel that is mainly used to gather intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, according to its manufacturer.

In one exercise in 2024, it successfully fired live munitions at a training target.

The Sail Drone looks just like its name implies, it is an autonomous water platform topped by a sail that provides power through wind and solar energy, according to its manufacturer.

A network of Sail Drones can provide a clearer at-sea situational awareness in hostile environments, according to its manufacturer.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.