Marine Helicopter Gunners Set Boat Ablaze Off USS San Antonio

Marine helicopter crews opened fire on a small boat, leaving it burning in the Pacific Ocean during a maritime interdiction operation launched from the USS San Antonio on September 8.

Footage released by the U.S. Marine Corps shows a speedboat cutting across the waves as a helicopter closes in, a door gunner firing a mounted weapon from the open cabin, and the vessel engulfed in flames and thick smoke. Earlier clips show flight deck crews on the amphibious ship preparing aircraft and Marines lining up on deck.

The operation involved Marines with Littoral Combat Force-24 and sailors aboard the USS San Antonio, the Marine Corps said.

U.S. forces have been deployed to the waters of Latin America under U.S. Southern Command in a campaign the military says aims to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland.