U.S. CENTCOM Launches Falcon Strike Drone Task Force

Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones, costing approximately $35,000 per platform, are positioned on the tarmac at a base in the U.S. Central Command operating area on November 23, 2025 as part of Scorpion Strike Task Force | Photo: U.S. Central Command

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is establishing Task Force Falcon Strike, a multinational unit to operate one-way attack drones across air, surface and underwater domains in the Middle East.

CENTCOM announced the initiative on August 13, saying the task force will bring together U.S. military personnel and regional partners to operate unmanned systems “from above, on and below the sea.” CENTCOM said it has begun consultations and issued invitations to partners.

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

Nick Fancher, a Shipboard Weapons Integration Team weapons logistics analyst, and Rob Pavel, a logistician with Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, conduct shipboard weapons integration work in support of the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System aboard USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32). SWIT validates that weapons systems can be safely stored, moved, and handled at sea prior to operational use. LUCAS later successfully launched from the ship’s flight deck on December 16, 2025, as part of Task Force Scorpion Strike operations while operating in the Arabian Gulf | Photo: Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division

The task force follows Task Force Scorpion Strike, created about nine months earlier as the U.S. military’s first dedicated one-way attack drone squadron in the Middle East. It launched an aerial attack drone from the littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara in December 2025.

In July 2026, U.S. forces used three Saronic Corsair unmanned surface vessels against a submarine and ship-maintenance facility at Iran’s Bandar Abbas naval base, according to CENTCOM. The operation was the first U.S. combat use of sea drones.

“The United States military has a lot of strong partnerships and friends in the region. We are collectively stronger when we integrate and deploy new capabilities together,” said Admiral Cooper.

U.S. Special Operations Command Central personnel will lead Falcon Strike’s staff of U.S. and regional representatives.

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