CENTCOM unveils plans for first multinational attack drone task force ‘Falcon Strike’ amid West Asia conflict

FLORIDA: US Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced plans to establish the first-ever multinational, multi-domain attack drone task force to integrate unmanned systems operated by the United States and regional partners across West Asia, amid continuing conflict and heightened security tensions in the region.

The new unit, designated Task Force Falcon Strike, will employ one-way attack drones comprising unmanned systems operating above, on and below the sea, CENTCOM said in a statement on Thursday. The initiative comes nine months after CENTCOM established Task Force Scorpion Strike, described by the US military as its first dedicated one-way attack drone squadron in the Middle East.

Scorpion Strike has since reached several operational milestones, including the first launch of an aerial attack drone from a US Navy warship in December last year. The unit also employed one-way unmanned aerial systems during Operation Epic Fury and used unmanned attack vessels during strikes on Iranian port facilities in July, according to CENTCOM.

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“Task Force Falcon Strike will expand on Scorpion Strike’s success given the tremendous innovation happening among our regional allies and partners,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. “Integrating and deploying our new capabilities together will help us rapidly realise the new possibilities that are on the horizon,” he added.

CENTCOM has begun consultations with regional countries and is formally inviting partners to participate in the task force. As partners join, Falcon Strike is expected to expand attack-drone capabilities across West Asia and develop what CENTCOM described as a unified, multi-domain, 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 (SOCCENT), which launched Task Force Scorpion Strike, will lead the staff of Falcon Strike, comprising US and regional representatives.

SOCCENT is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida and is responsible for planning and conducting special operations across CENTCOM’s 21-country area of responsibility spanning West Asia, Central Asia and South Asia.

The establishment of Falcon Strike marks a further expansion of the US military’s use of unmanned systems across multiple operational domains and reflects CENTCOM’s push to integrate emerging drone capabilities with regional partners. (ANI)