US Central Command has formed a new task force that will deploy America's first one-way suicide drone squadron to the Middle East, saying the move “sets the stage for innovation to be used as a deterrent” as Iran and its proxies step up low-cost attacks across the region.
CENTCOM announced Wednesday the activation of Task Force Scorpio Strike. noting The unit was formed four months after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the deployment of affordable drones to be accelerated as part of the Pentagon's broader drone dominance initiative. The commander said the squadron is already armed with low-cost unmanned combat systems (LUCAS), which are currently operating from an undisclosed location in the Middle East.
According to CNNLUCAS aircraft have “wide range” and are designed for autonomous flight using onboard sensors and artificial intelligence. They can be launched from catapults, truck-mounted platforms, mobile ground systems or via rocket take-off – a flexible profile designed to counter the cheap, disposable drones that Tehran has handed out to militias from Yemen to Iraq.
Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said the deployment reflects a strategic shift. “Rapidly equipping our experienced warfighters with advanced drone capabilities demonstrates U.S. military innovation and strength that deters adversaries,” he said.
Although CENTCOM avoided going into detail about the origins of the drones, CNN The LUCAS system was reportedly developed after American engineers reconstructed a damaged Iranian Shahed drone captured several years ago. Wall Street Journal similarly reported that is based in Arizona SpectrumWorks created the FLM-136 by directly modeling it on the Shahed-136, the same platform that Iran and its proxies used to strike American troops, merchant ships and Israeli cities, and the same design that Russia launched by the thousands into Ukraine.
Magazine added that the SpektreWorks version has a delta 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, which is significantly cheaper than legacy systems such as the MQ-9 Reaper, which cost about $16 million per aircraft.
The decision to create the squadron comes nearly two years after an Iranian-made drone crashed into Tower 22 in Jordan, killing three American troops, one of dozens of attacks by Tehran-backed groups across the region. US and Israeli forces also intercepted more than 70 drones during the unprecedented Israeli bombardment of Israel in April 2024, highlighting the growing threat posed by cheap, one-way munitions.
The new unit is being created by Special Operations Command Central personnel and partners with CENTCOM's Joint Rapid Response Task Force, created in September to accelerate the deployment of autonomous and new capabilities to deployed forces. The Journal reported that the Pentagon intends to eventually introduce new capabilities on a 60-day cycle, reflecting a sharp departure from multi-year procurement schedules.
This was reported by a representative of the Ministry of Defense CNN that a previous reliance on larger, slower and 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 through mass production of expendable systems modeled on the very platforms Tehran has used to reshape the battlefield.
CENTCOM did not disclose how many drones have been deployed, saying only that “many” are in service and more are arriving. Images released by the command show rows of delta-wing aircraft prepared for launch at an unknown Middle Eastern site, visually replicating 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 one-way strike drone squadron signals a broader shift toward fast, low-cost strike networks designed to contain Iran's expanding drone arsenal.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
