U.S. launches first multinational attack drone task force amid war with Iran

Miami.- The U.S. Army announced this Thursday its first-ever multinational attack drone group, which will operate with allied countries in the regions where the United States Central Command (Centcom) operates in the Middle East and Asia, amid the war with Iran.

The new group, called Task Force Falcon Strike, will use one-way attack drones with unmanned systems from the air, the sea surface, and the underwater environment under the direction of the United States military and regional partners, Centcom indicated in a statement.

The military organization, based in Florida, noted that the launch of the new international task force comes nine months after creating Task Force Scorpion Strike, the first U.S. Army squadron for attack drones in the Middle East.

Among its milestones, it highlighted that U.S. forces used maritime drones in combat for the first time, which in July attacked a maintenance center for submarines and ships in Iran, in addition to the first launch of an aerial attack drone from a U.S. Navy warship in December.

The U.S. attack drone group

“Task Force Falcon Strike will expand on the success of Scorpion Strike given the tremendous innovation that is occurring among our regional allies and partners,” stated Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of Centcom.

The multinational group emerges as drones are increasingly frequent weapons of war, as shown by the conflicts in Ukraine and Sudan, where the UN warned in May that these tools “have become, by far, the greatest cause of civilian deaths.”

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The United States Department of War announced in February the goal of acquiring 300,000 drones by 2027, at a cost of $2,300 to $5,000 each, while the president, Donald Trump, signed an executive order in 2025 to ‘Unleash American dominance in drones,’ with measures to accelerate their production.

Less expensive alternative

Drones represent a less expensive alternative while Trump acknowledged last week the shortage of some types of weaponry, although he defended that there is enough ammunition to sustain the war with Iran.

Centcom has not yet detailed which nations will integrate the new task force, indicating that it is inviting partners from among the 21 countries in its area of responsibility in the Middle East and Asia.

«The United States Army has strong alliances and friends in the region. We are collectively stronger when we integrate and deploy new capabilities together», commented Cooper.