U.S. Deploys One-Way-Attack Drone Force To The Middle East

Earlier this week, USCENTCOM issued a press release announcing Task Force SCORPION STRIKE, the first US one-way-attack drone squadron in the Middle East. The squadron is equipped with low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) aircraft—$35,000, long-range, largely autonomous drones reverse-engineered from Iran’s Shahed-136 and launchable from catapults, rocket-assisted rails, or mobile vehicles.

According to an ABC Report, the system is operated by a joint special operations unit. The force is meant to “flip the script” on Iran while advancing Washington’s broader push for mass-produced expendable drones.

For a deeper look at how Shahed-style one-way-attack systems are changing battles from Ukraine to Gaza and the wider Middle East—but still falling short of solving land warfare’s core problems—read Amos Fox’s SWJ essay, “Drones Are Game-Changing, But They Are Not the Answer to the Inherent Challenges of Land War” here.

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