Senator Cruz HAILS HEROISM in First Ever Drone Boat Rescue at Sea
The Ben Ferguson Podcast
iHeartPodcasts
4.8 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 10 June 2026
⏱️ 17 minutes
🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS
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Summary
- A U.S. AH-64 Apache helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz (off Oman) during a patrol.
- The two crew members survived and were stranded in the water.
- A U.S. Navy unmanned surface vessel (drone boat)—specifically a Corsair autonomous boat—was deployed to rescue them.
- The drone located the pilots, picked them up, and transported them to a safe point for helicopter extraction.
- The rescue happened within about two hours, and both pilots were reported to be in stable condition.
🤖 Why It’s Significant
- This was the first known real-world rescue mission using a drone boat.
- It demonstrates the growing role of AI and autonomous systems in military operations, especially rescue and evacuation.
- It shows how unmanned systems can reduce risk to human rescuers and respond quickly in dangerous environments.
🏛️ Senator Cruz’s Role
- Senator Ted Cruz publicly commented on the event, praising:
- His remarks highlight:
- Support for U.S. innovation in autonomous defense technology
- The importance of maintaining technological leadership
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:02.3 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:04.7 | The two pilots were rescued out of the water by an unmanned sea drone, |
| 0:09.2 | operated by Task Force 59 in Bahrain. |
| 0:11.8 | The drones Texas made, it's 24 feet long and can travel 1,000 miles and hit speeds of 35 knots. |
| 0:19.3 | And it's the first sea drone rescue in combat history. |
| 0:22.7 | You're listening to the 47 morning update with Ben Ferguson. Good Wednesday morning. Nice to have you |
| 0:27.8 | with us on the 47 morning update. And we've got one big story for you. And it involves an incredible |
| 0:33.2 | rescue of two service members that were shot down in an Apache helicopter by Iran. |
| 0:39.6 | What's amazing about the story is how they were saved, and it was by a drone. |
| 0:45.2 | Senator Cruz, join me to talk about this amazing rescue, and we have all of it for you. |
| 0:51.0 | But before we get to that, I want to take a moment and talk to you about how |
| 0:54.3 | you can get involved with Compassion International and have a real impact. I want to be honest with |
| 1:00.2 | you for a second about how an act of compassion really feels. A couple of years ago, I made the |
| 1:05.8 | choice to partner with an amazing organization called Compassion International. |
| 1:11.5 | Why? |
| 1:14.7 | Because I wanted to sponsor a child in need. |
| 1:21.2 | It was a nice idea, sure, but I had no idea just how much that simple act would change my life as well. |
| 1:22.8 | I sponsored Nadia and got to watch her life change right in front of my eyes, going from starving |
| 1:29.3 | literally alone on the streets to getting the health care and education she needs to reach |
| 1:34.9 | her God-given full potential. I got to be a part of that change and the light of that compassion |
| 1:42.0 | not only illuminates in her. It illuminates now in me. That is the power of that compassion not only illuminates in her. |
... |
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