LONDON: US Central Command is establishing what it described as the first multinational task force in the Middle East region dedicated to the use of attack drones across the air, land and sea domains.
The new unit, “Task Force Falcon Strike,” will use unmanned, one-way attack drones, which detonate on impact, including systems that operate on, below or above the sea. They will be operated by US military personnel and their regional partners.
The announcement on Thursday came nine months after Central Command 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,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command.
“Integrating and deploying our new capabilities together will help us rapidly realize the new possibilities that are on the horizon.”
The US is consulting with regional partners and will formally invite them to join the task force. As more nations join, the force is expected to expand attack-drone capabilities across the Middle East and create what Central Command described as a unified, multinational deterrent.
“The United States military has a lot of strong partnerships and friends in the region,” Cooper said. “We are collectively stronger when we integrate and deploy new capabilities together.”
Personnel from US Special Operations Command Central, which launched Scorpion Strike, will lead Falcon Strike’s staff of US and regional representatives. Scorpion Strike has reached several operational milestones since it was established, including the first launch of an aerial attack drone from a US Navy warship in December.
The squadron also used one-way, unmanned aerial systems during Operation Epic Fury against Iran, which began in February, and employed unmanned attack vessels in strikes on Iranian port facilities in July, Central Command said.
The Special Operations Command, the headquarters of which are at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, plans and conducts special operations across Central Command’s 21-country area of responsibility in the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia.
