The USS Boxer, which is homeported in San Diego, took down an Iranian drone that flew too close to the ship Thursday in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to President Donald Trump, the Boxer took out the unmanned aircraft, which was deemed a threat to the safety of the amphibious assault ship and its crew, after multiple attempts to stand down went unanswered.
The drone was immediately destroyed using electronic jamming equipment aboard the Boxer at roughly 10 a.m. local time, according to Pentagon officials.
"This is the latest of many provocative and hostile actions by Iran against vessels operating in international waters," Trump said at the White House. "The United States reserves the right to defend our personnel, facilities and interests, and calls upon all nations to condemn Iran's attempt to disrupt freedom of navigation and global commerce."
According to Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman, the Boxer was in international waters and the drone "closed within a threatening range" before defensive action was taken. It was unclear if the Iranian drone was armed.
The USS Boxer was commissioned into the U.S. Navy in 1995 and has been homeported in San Diego since then. The Boxer has deployed more than a dozen times since its commissioning, including multiple deployments to the western Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf.
The Boxer also deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in January 2003 with five other ships homeported in San Diego — the USS Bonhomme Richard, USS Cleveland, USS Comstock, USS Dubuque and USS Pearl Harbor — as well as the USS Anchorage, which was decommissioned later that year.
