US Central Command announced a new multi-domain, multinational attack drone force on August 13, a development that reflects how inexpensive technology is transforming military operations across the Middle East and beyond. The initiative, called Task Force Falcon Strike, comes as CENTCOM grapples with drone threats that have escalated from ISIS battlefield experiments to Iranian exports now deployed from Yemen to Ukraine.
The new task force will use one-way attack drones — sometimes called loitering munitions or kamikaze drones — that are replacing cruise missiles and other expensive ordnance. These cheap drones enable precision strikes and represent a direct response to Iran's use of the Shahed 136 and other one-way attack drones, which Tehran exported to the Houthis in 2020 and later to Russia.
From Costco to the Battlefield
In February 2021, US Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, then-commander of CENTCOM, warned that cheap commercial drones posed a real threat. They could be acquired at Costco right now, he said. That warning came after ISIS had used drones in combat. A year later Russia invaded Ukraine, and Ukraine revolutionized drone technology. Today Ukraine is at the forefront of using drones on the tactical level on the battlefield.
CENTCOM said the new task force builds on the success of Scorpion Strike, which achieved a milestone by launching the first ever attack drone from a navy warship last December. CENTCOM head Brad Cooper has long taken the drone threat and drone innovation seriously.
Over the last several years, CENTCOM has made the Middle East a laboratory for integrating new generations of unmanned systems into military operations. Rather than viewing drones as niche capabilities, CENTCOM has sought to make them a core part of future warfare, reflecting lessons learned from conflicts in Ukraine, the Red Sea and the growing use of Iranian drones across the region.
The LUCAS System and Task Force 59
One of the most important developments has been the deployment of the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, or LUCAS, a one-way attack drone designed to provide US forces with an inexpensive, attritable strike capability. It was developed under the Pentagon's Drone Dominance initiative. LUCAS can be launched from ships, vehicles or ground launchers and is intended to overwhelm enemy air defenses.
CENTCOM formed Task Force Scorpion Strike to field the first operational LUCAS squadron in the Middle East, and the drone has been employed both from land and, for the first time, from the littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara.
The US Navy's Task Force 59 became the centerpiece of CENTCOM's experimentation with drone systems. Established under US Naval Forces Central Command, Task Force 59 integrated unmanned surface vessels, aerial drones, artificial intelligence and other systems to improve maritime operations. A sea drone played a key role in rescuing downed pilots earlier this year. The naval task force has demonstrated how numerous drone vessels can patrol strategic waterways while reducing the use of crewed ships.
The naval initiative also used various types of unmanned vessels, including a system developed in Israel. Israel has been a pioneer in drone warfare since the late 1970s.
Regional Partnerships and the Abraham Accords
Jared Kushner, a key architect of the Abraham Accords, wrote on X this week about the importance of the accords. "Six years ago, President Trump launched the Abraham Accords and opened a new chapter of peace, partnership, and prosperity in the Middle East," he said. He added that the idea behind the Abraham Accords was to build bonds that bring people together, increase understanding, expand trade and investment, deepen security cooperation and create tangible benefits that make people's lives better and give everyone a stake in peace.
The drone initiative is an important development in harnessing the capabilities of US allies and partners in the region and points the way forward in terms of the future of war.
Ukraine's Lessons
The Wall Street Journal recently wrote that US and Ukrainian Forces Went Head-to-Head in an Exercise. Ukraine's Drones Won. Another report noted that in the spring of 2026, Ukrainian UAV operators taking part in NATO exercises in Gotland defeated Swedish troops in an exercise.
Why This Matters:
The proliferation of cheap, effective drone technology is fundamentally altering the balance of power in the Middle East — not just between states, but between state militaries and non-state actors. Iran's export of Shahed drones to the Houthis in the sixth year of Yemen's humanitarian catastrophe gave a militia the ability to strike Saudi oil facilities and threaten commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The same technology now fuels Russia's war in Ukraine. CENTCOM's response — building multinational drone task forces and integrating Israeli and regional partner systems — reflects a strategic reality: the next Middle East conflict won't be won with expensive missiles alone. It'll be shaped by who can deploy the most drones, fastest, at the lowest cost. That's a reality that favors proliferation, escalation, and the kind of asymmetric warfare that makes civilian protection harder and diplomatic off-ramps narrower. The technology is here. The question is whether the frameworks to control it will follow.