An Israeli Air Force AH-64 Apache helicopter flies along the southern Lebanese border on June 4. Analysts have raised the possibility that the US Army Apache that crashed Tuesday was brought down by a surface-to-air missile rather than an Iranian drone strike. [AFP]
An Israeli Air Force AH-64 Apache helicopter flies along the southern Lebanese border on June 4. Analysts have raised the possibility that the US Army Apache that crashed Tuesday was brought down by a surface-to-air missile rather than an Iranian drone strike. [AFP]

The crash of a US Army helicopter that reignited exchanges of strikes between the United States and Iran — whose drawn-out negotiations had been stalling — may have been caused by a surface-to-air missile rather than an Iranian drone attack, analysts say.

The US Army AH-64 Apache crashed near the Strait of Hormuz and the Omani coast at around 3 a.m. local time Tuesday while on patrol. Both pilots were rescued about 30 minutes later with the help of an unmanned surface vessel.

President Donald Trump claimed Iran had shot the helicopter down and announced retaliatory strikes. CENTCOM then carried out strikes against military facilities in southern Iran, including radar installations, on Tuesday.

Some reports said the helicopter had collided with an Iranian drone before going down, though it remained unclear whether the drone had intentionally rammed the aircraft.

Others pushed back, arguing that a drone collision was an unlikely cause. Cameron Chell, CEO of Dragonfly, a drone technology company based in Saskatoon, Canada, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that Iran simply does not have the capability. "Iran doesn't have a drone that shoots down an Apache. Iran has a missile that shoots down an Apache," he said.

Chell said Iran does not possess surface-to-air drones in the conventional sense, and there is no known indication it has developed such a capability. "Typical surface-to-air drone capability is used to shoot down other drones — not necessarily aircraft," he said.

He elaborated on the limitations of anti-air drones. "A typical drone that shoots down air power is made to shoot down other drones — not larger assets like a helicopter," he said, underscoring how unlikely it would be for a drone to bring down an Apache.

If the crash was not caused by a mechanical failure in the Apache itself, Chell said an entirely different class of weapon was likely involved. "I would think it was some kind of surface-to-air missile — possibly a man-portable, shoulder-fired missile," he said, referring to the type of shoulder-launched missiles Iranian forces used in the early stages of the war.

Iran has not issued an official statement or claimed responsibility for the crash. Chell said that if Iran had downed the aircraft, it would typically be quick to say so. "Usually they would be making a big deal out of shooting down that kind of air power," he said, adding that a decentralized unit acting independently could have carried out the strike.


kate01@heraldcorp.com