A US Army Apache attack helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and both crew members were safely rescued, US President Donald Trump confirmed early Tuesday, telling reporters the pilots “are fine” and that there was “nobody injured.”
Trump made the remarks on the runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport before returning to Washington, D.C., and said the administration would issue a report later in the day, Ada Derana reported, citing Reuters. The New York Times had first reported the downing late Monday, citing two people briefed on the incident.
It was not immediately clear whether the Apache was shot down by Iranian fire, suffered mechanical failure or encountered some other problem, the Times report said. The US State Department and US Central Command had not responded to requests for comment from Reuters at the time of the Ada Derana report.
The loss of a forward US Army asset near the chokepoint — even one whose crew survived — adds a new operational data point to a Gulf theatre where Iran has blocked most commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Washington is enforcing a parallel blockade of Iranian ports, and the US Navy is actively striking sanctioned tankers — including the F/A-18 strike on the Marivex tanker off Oman on Monday. It also lands as Trump publicly pushes a near-term de-escalation framework, with the president telling reporters Monday evening the Strait could reopen within two to three days once a deal is signed, and predicting in a separate tele-rally that Washington would declare “total victory” over Iran within two weeks.
The Apache is the US Army’s primary attack helicopter and, depending on configuration, fields heavy anti-armour and rocket weaponry alongside its 30mm chain gun. The aircraft is not normally a Navy or Marine asset, raising questions about which command was operating it forward in a maritime theatre and whether its crew was operating from a ground base on the Arabian Peninsula or from an Army vessel. The administration’s promised follow-up report is expected to clarify those operational details.
