Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Dec 3: The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced the establishment of Task Force Scorpion Strike, the military’s first one-way attack drone squadron to be based in the Middle East. The announcement comes four months after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered an accelerated push for low-cost drone technologies, following President Donald Trump’s criticism that American defence manufacturers were producing systems far more expensive than Iran and Russia’s budget drone models.
According to CENTCOM, the new unit aims to rapidly equip deployed forces with affordable, expendable combat drones, though the Pentagon has not yet disclosed how much each system will cost. The task force has already formed a squadron of Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones positioned in the Persian Gulf. These drones are designed for long-range autonomous missions and can be launched via catapult, rocket-assisted takeoff or mobile ground platforms.
“This new task force sets the conditions for using innovation as a deterrent,” CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said, adding that swiftly equipping warfighters with cutting-edge drone capabilities demonstrates US strength and deters adversaries.
Earlier this week, the US War Department issued a request for information to assess industry capacity to mass-produce nearly 300,000 low-cost drones, part of Trump’s broader goal of achieving “drone dominance.” The president signed the Unleashing American Drone Dominance executive order on June 6, setting an agenda to boost both military and commercial drone production, including supplying US units with large quantities of inexpensive American-made lethal drones.
In July, Hegseth issued a follow-up memorandum detailing plans to expand domestic manufacturing, integrate low-cost drones into combat units and weave drone operations into all levels of combat training. “Next year I expect to see drone capability integrated into all relevant combat training, including force-on-force drone wars,” Hegseth said.
CENTCOM has also created the Rapid Employment Joint Task Force, led by its chief technology officer, to fast-track the deployment of new battlefield technologies. Task Force Scorpion Strike will be staffed by personnel from Special Operations Command Central.
The move follows global shifts in drone warfare, particularly Iran’s development of low-cost, two-stroke-engine drones that have reshaped battlefields. Despite initial reluctance, Russian forces widely adopted the Iranian Shahed model—informally dubbed “flying lawnmowers of death”—which became a core strike weapon in Ukraine. Although Iran denies supplying drones to Russia, Ukrainian forces have displayed intact drones traced back to factories in Isfahan and other Iranian locations. Iran now supports drone production not only domestically but also through a network across Russia’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone and facilities in Tajikistan.
The US initiative marks its most aggressive push yet to counter low-cost drone proliferation across global conflict zones.