US Central Command: The drones that attacked the Mercer Street ship were built in Iran

 

US Central Command: The drones that attacked the Mercer Street ship were built in Iran

The US Central Command, Centcom, on Friday, August 6, released the results of its investigation into the recent attack on the Mercer Street tanker, which states that the Iranian regime targeted the ship with three drone strikes.

According to the statement, the military's staff pulled several pieces of the Iranian regime's third drone out of the sea and recovered them, concluding that they were similar to pre-assembled samples of the Iranian regime's offensive drones.

Centcom said the first two drone strikes on the ship failed on August 7, but the third drone strike killed two crew members.

The US Central Command has determined that the drone attack caused a hole 6 feet (1 meter and 80 cm) in diameter in the captain's cabin and seriously damaged the interior of the cabin.

Statement by US Central Command on the investigation into the attack on the Mercer Street tanker

Centcom site

August 6, 2021

TAMPA, Florida - A USS Ronald Reagan explosives team entered the tanker to investigate evidence after an UAV blew up its Mercer Street (M / T) tanker as it crossed international waters off the coast of Oman July 30. Survive the crew to interview.

The team reached the following findings:

1) The Mercer Street tanker was targeted by two unsuccessful drone strikes on the evening of July 29. The crew reported the attacks through emergency calls on the evening of July 29. Based on interviews with the crew, the investigation team confirmed the reports of the attacks, which hit the sea near the tanker. Investigators found small wreckage from at least one of the drones on Mercer Street, which the crew pulled out of the water, confirming the reports.

2) The investigation team determined that the extensive damage to Mercer Street recorded in the attached slides was the result of the third drone strike on July 30. The drone had military-grade explosives, killing two crew members; The captain of the ship, a Romanian citizen and a British citizen who was part of the security team.

3) Explosive Explosion Following the collision of the drone, a hole with a diameter of 6 feet was created in the roof of the ship's captain and caused serious damage to its interior. Explosive chemical experiments showed a nitrate-based explosive known as RDX, indicating that the drone was designed to cause damage and destruction.

4) Explosives experts were able to retrieve several pieces of this third drone, including a vertical stabilizer (part of the wing) and internal components that were almost identical to previous samples collected from Iran's suicide bombers. The distance from Iran's shores to the site of the attacks was within range of documented Iranian suicide bombers. After an on-site analysis, some of the material was transferred to the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, and subsequently to the US National Laboratory for further testing and approval.

5) British explosives experts were given access to evidence at Fifth Fleet headquarters. The evidence was shared virtually with Israeli explosives experts. Both partners agreed with the US findings.

Based on the evidence, American experts concluded that this drone was produced in Iran.