US Army Apache helicopter [AP=Yonhap News Photo]

It has been confirmed that an Iranian drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) was responsible for shooting down a US Apache helicopter that was patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz.

US media outlets, including The New York Times (NYT) and CNN, reported this on the 9th (local time), citing US officials.

The 'AH-64 Apache' is a primary attack helicopter of the US Army, equipped with a cannon and missiles. This is the first time this helicopter has been shot down since the outbreak of the Iran war.

The Iranian weapon used to shoot down the Apache is the 'Shahed attack drone,' known as a 'kamikaze drone' (referring to Japan's suicide special forces during the Pacific War).

This can be seen as a victory for asymmetric tactics, where a country's advanced, low-cost unmanned weapons have neutralized a representative conventional weapon operated by humans.

It also serves as a moment that reaffirms the value of unmanned suicide drones, which have already become central weapons in modern warfare, as seen in recent global conflicts such as in Ukraine.

It is also noteworthy that the equipment used to rescue the two pilots on board the downed Apache helicopter was a drone.

US Central Command spokesperson Timothy Hawkins, who oversees military operations against Iran, stated, "A US Navy surface drone discovered and rescued the (Apache) crew members who had fallen into the water."

He added, "This drone transported them to another vessel, where they were then airlifted for further transfer."

The US online media Axios reported that the surface drone that performed the rescue operation was the unmanned vessel 'Corsair,' developed by the defense company Saronic.

Corsair is equipment operated by Task Force 59, a naval unit established in Bahrain in 2021 by the US Navy to test and incorporate unmanned technology and artificial intelligence (AI) into naval operations.

Axios described the rescue operation using the surface drone as "an unprecedented operation with incredibly high risk" and noted that it "offers a glimpse into future warfare where humans and intelligent military equipment operate together."