US EditionUS sets up one-way attack drone squadron in the Middle East after reverse-engineering Iranian drone
- On Wednesday, U.S. Central Command announced Task Force Scorpion Strike will oversee the first one-way LUCAS drone squadron in the Middle East, officials said.
- Having faced continuous drone attacks by Iran and its proxies over the last two years, the U.S. military launched roughly 170 drones and more than 120 ballistic missiles toward Israel in 2024, accelerating drone development in recent months.
- SpektreWorks built the LUCAS drones after reverse-engineering a delta-winged Shahed-136 drone obtained several years ago; the captured Shahed was damaged and the $35,000 drones launch autonomously from catapults, rockets, or mobile systems, officials said.
- A joint special operations unit under CENTCOM will operate the squadron, with Task Force Scorpion Strike managing nearly two dozen personnel led by Special Operations Command – Central.
- The deployment underscores broader battlefield shifts, as one-way drones' low-cost technology changed warfare post-Ukraine and Israel-Iran conflicts, with Israel's November attack reducing Iran's air-defense, an official said.
88 Articles
88 Articles
US Stands Up New Drone Strike Force in the Middle East
Drone warfare has emerged as one of the leading modes of combat in the modern era. The US military, like its foreign counterparts, appears to be prioritizing the development of sophisticated and lethal drones that could potentially play a leading role in combat operations. This week, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced it would be forming a new task force for the military’s premier one-way attack drone squadron based in the Middle East. Thoug…
US clones Iranian one-way attack drone as it builds own kamikaze fleet
The US military has re-created Iran’s Shahed-136 drone in a bid to create it’s own fleet of unmanned one-way kamikaze bombers. On 3 December, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Task Force Scorpion Strike (TFSS). The delivery reportedly came just: four months after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth directed acceleration of the acquisition and fielding of affordable drone technology. TFSS is designed to quickly deliver low cost and effective drone…
'Scorpion Strike': US Deploys First One-Way Attack Drone Squadron To Middle East
The U.S. military has officially stood up its first squadron of one-way attack drones in the Middle East. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the creation of Task Force Scorpion Strike on Tuesday, marking a strategic shift toward rapidly fielding cheaper, disposable autonomous weapons. The move follows a directive issued four months ago by Secretary of […] ‘Scorpion Strike’: US Deploys First One-Way Attack Drone Squadron To Middle East
CENTCOM Deploys ‘Suicide Drone’ Squadron in Middle East to Deter
U.S. Central Command has launched a new task force deploying America’s first one-way “suicide drone” squadron in the Middle East, saying the move “sets the conditions for using innovation as a deterrent” as Iran and its proxies escalate low-cost attacks across the region.
TOMORROW’S WAR: US Department of War Deploys Cheap and Lethal Long-Range Drones Copied From Iranian Shahed
The US Lucas drone is reverse-engineered from the successful Iranian Shahed drone used in the Middle-East and in the Ukraine War. Drone swarms are the military wave of the future. One of the deadliest military developments of the last few years is the ‘kamikaze’ attack drone, an inexpensive but lethal weapon that is now being deployed in swarms. Just imagine that one patriot air defense missile can cost between 3 and 5 million dollars, and you s…
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