The US is expanding its use of unmanned systems in the Middle East with the announced establishment of the first-ever multi-domain multinational attack drone task force by the US Central Command (CENTCOM).
Efforts are underway to set up ‘Task Force Falcon Strike’, which will employ one-way attack drones above, on, and below the sea operated by military support staff from the US and its regional partners.
CENTCOM is consulting with and officially inviting its regional partners, which include Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE and Yemen.
The launch of Task Force Falcon Strike comes nine months after CENTCOM established Task Force Scorpion Strike, the US military’s first dedicated one-way attack drone squadron in the Middle East.
“Task Force Falcon Strike will expand on Scorpion Strike’s success given the tremendous innovation happening among our regional allies and partners,” CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper explained.
“Integrating and deploying our new capabilities together will help us rapidly realise the new possibilities that are on the horizon.”
Task Force Falcon Strike will scale attack drone capabilities across the Middle East into a unified multi-domain, multinational deterrent, as regional partners formally join.
Task Force Scorpion Strike’s key achievements included the first-ever launch of an aerial attack drone from a US Navy warship last December.
The squadron also operated one-way unmanned aerial systems during Operation Epic Fury and during strikes on Iranian port facilities last month using unmanned attack vessels at sea.
“The US military has a lot of strong partnerships and friends in the region,” Adm Cooper added.
“We are collectively stronger when we integrate and deploy new capabilities together.”
US Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT), which launched Scorpion Strike, will lead Falcon Strike’s staff of US and regional representatives.
Headquartered in Florida, SOCCENT plans and conducts special operations across CENTCOM’s 21-country area of responsibility in the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia.
Last month, CENTCOM led a regional security dialogue hosted by the Bahrain Defence Force for regional defence leaders from 12 nations, including Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE and Yemen.
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