U.S. launches multinational one-way attack drone task force in Middle East

Published Aug 14, 12:15 AM UTC

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the creation of Task Force Falcon Strike (TFFS), described as the first multinational attack drone task force. The task force will integrate one-way attack drones from air, sea, and underwater domains, operated by U.S. and regional partner personnel. The announcement comes amid paused U.S.-Iran combat but continued Houthi attacks on shipping and concerns over U.S. standoff weapon stockpiles. TFFS builds on Task Force Scorpion Strike, a U.S.-only drone squadron established in December that used LUCAS kamikaze drones reverse-engineered from Iranian Shahed-136s. Scorpion Strike achieved several firsts, including the first combat use of LUCAS drones, the first drone boat rescue of downed helicopter crew, and the first U.S. use of an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) as an attack weapon. CENTCOM also noted the task force will employ uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) as attack weapons, following Ukraine's first-ever UUV attack on a Russian submarine. CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper stated the task force will scale attack drone capabilities across the Middle East into a unified multinational deterrent. U.S. Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) will lead the task force.