U.S. Central Command has launched a new task force deploying America’s first squadron of one-way “suicide drones” to the Middle East, saying the move “creates the conditions to use innovation as a deterrent” as Iran and its proxies increase low-cost attacks in the region.
CENTCOM announced Wednesday the activation of Task Force Scorpion Strike. noting The unit was created four months after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered a rapid push to deploy affordable drones as part of the Pentagon’s broader drone dominance initiative. The command said the squadron is already armed with low-cost LUCAS (Unmanned Combat Attack System) drones, currently operating from an undisclosed location in the Middle East.
According to CNNLUCAS aircraft have “extended autonomy” and are designed to fly autonomously using onboard sensors and artificial intelligence. They can be launched from catapults, truck-mounted platforms, mobile ground systems or with a rocket-assisted takeoff — a flexible profile intended to counter the cheap, expendable drones that Tehran has distributed to militias from Yemen to Iraq.
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said the deployment reflects a strategic shift. “Equipping our skilled warfighters with cutting-edge drone capabilities more quickly demonstrates American military innovation and strength, which deters bad actors,” he said.
If CENTCOM avoided detailing the origin of the drones, CNN reported that the LUCAS system was developed after American engineers reverse-engineered a damaged Iranian Shahed drone captured several years ago. The Wall Street Journal Similarly, Arizona-based SpektreWorks produced the FLM-136 by modeling it directly on the Shahed-136 — the same platform that Iran and its proxies have used to strike U.S. troops, commercial ships and Israeli cities, and the same design that Russia has fired by the thousands into Ukraine.
THE Newspaper added that SpektreWorks’ version features a triangular wingspan of just over eight feet and can fly for about six hours, citing data from the company’s website. The Pentagon says each unit costs about $35,000, significantly cheaper than existing systems such as the MQ-9 Reaper, which costs about $16 million per plane.
The decision to raise the squadron comes nearly two years after an Iranian-made drone slammed into Tower 22 in Jordan, killing three U.S. service members — one of dozens of attacks carried out by Tehran-backed groups in the region. US and Israeli forces also intercepted more than 70 drones during Iran’s unprecedented barrage on Israel in April 2024, underscoring the growing threat posed by cheap one-way munitions.
The new unit is built by Special Operations Command Center personnel and aligned with CENTCOM’s Joint Rapid Employment Task Force, launched in September to accelerate the fielding of autonomous and emerging capabilities to deployed forces. The Journal reported that the Pentagon aims to deploy new capabilities on a 60-day cycle, reflecting a dramatic shift from procurement schedules that span several years.
A defense official said CNN that previous reliance on larger, slower, more expensive platforms “put our forces at a disadvantage” compared to Iran’s low-cost attack drones — a disadvantage the Pentagon now intends to address with mass-produced, expendable systems modeled after the very platforms Tehran has used to reshape the battlefield.
CENTCOM did not reveal how many drones have already been deployed, saying only that “many” are in service and more are arriving. Images released by the command show rows of delta-wing aircraft ready for launch at an undisclosed site in the Middle East, visually echoing Iran’s Shahed-131 and Shahed-136.
As drone warfare continues to redefine conflicts from Gaza to Ukraine, U.S. commanders say the launch of America’s first squadron of one-way attack drones signals a broader shift toward rapid, low-cost strike networks designed to blunt Iran’s growing drone arsenal.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
