MIAMI — The US Army announced this Thursday its first multinational group of attack drones in history, which will operate with allied countries in the regions where the US Central Command (Centcom) operates in the Middle East and Asia, in the midst of the war with Iran.
The new group, called Task Force Falcon Strike, will use unidirectional attack drones with unmanned systems from the air, sea surface and underwater environment under the direction of the US military and regional partnersCentcom said in a statement.
The military organization, based in Florida, noted that the launch of the new international task force occurs nine months after creating the Task Force Scorpion Strike, the US Army’s first squadron for attack drones in the Middle East.
Among its milestones, he highlighted that US 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 air attack drone from a US Navy warship in December.
“Task Force Falcon Strike will expand on the success of Scorpion Strike given the tremendous innovation occurring among our allies and regional partners,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of Centcom.
weapons of war
The multinational group emerges as drones are increasingly common 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 biggest cause of civilian deaths.”
The United States War Department announced in February the goal of obtaining 300,000 drones by 2027, at a cost of $2,300 to $5,000 each, while President Donald Trump signed an executive order in 2025 to ‘Unleash American dominance in drones’, with measures to accelerate their production.
Drones represent a less expensive alternative, while Trump acknowledged last week the shortage of some types of weapons, although he defended that there is enough ammunition to maintain the war with Iran.
Centcom has not yet detailed which nations will make up the new working group, indicating that it is inviting partners from among the 21 countries in its area of responsibility in the Middle East and Asia.
“The U.S. Army has strong alliances and friends in the region. We are collectively stronger when we integrate and deploy new capabilities together,” Cooper said.
