US Central Command has announced the formation of Task Force Scorpion Strike, the military's first one-way attack drone squadron based in the Middle East, according to a statement released on December 3.

The task force was launched four months after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth directed acceleration of affordable drone technology acquisition and fielding following a demand by President Trump that defence manufacturers were too expensive compared with Iran and Russia’s recent low-cost drones.

The unit is designed to rapidly deliver low-cost drone capabilities to deployed forces; however, despite the claim of "low-cost", the US has not yet said how much one would cost to build and deploy.

Task Force Scorpion Strike has already formed a squadron of "Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System" (LUCAS) drones currently based in the Persian Gulf. The drones have extensive range and are designed to operate autonomously, with launch options including catapults, rocket-assisted takeoff and mobile ground and vehicle systems.

"This new task force sets the conditions for using innovation as a deterrent," said Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. "Equipping our skilled warfighters faster with cutting-edge drone capabilities showcases US military innovation and strength, which deters bad actors."

The US War Department requested information earlier this week to gauge the industry's ability to produce approximately 300,000 drones quickly and inexpensively, part of efforts to meet "drone dominance" goals outlined by President Donald Trump.

President Trump signed the "Unleashing American Drone Dominance" executive order on June 6, outlining plans to boost drone capabilities in both commercial and military sectors, including delivering large quantities of inexpensive American-made lethal drones to military units.

Hegseth followed in July with a memorandum detailing how the department would meet the president's intent, including building up domestic drone manufacturing, arming combat units with low-cost American-made drones and integrating drone capability into combat training.

"Next year I expect to see drone capability integrated into all relevant combat training, including force-on-force drone wars," Hegseth said.

In September, CENTCOM launched the Rapid Employment Joint Task Force led by its chief technology officer to fast-track processes for outfitting deployed forces with emerging capabilities.

Task Force Scorpion Strike's efforts are led by personnel from Special Operations Command Central.

As bne IntelliNews previously reported, Iran kick-started the development of low-cost drones powered by two-stroke motorcycle engines out of necessity, severely undercutting the high-tech kit offered by Israel, Russia and the US. 

Russian forces were reluctant at first to use the Iranian technology, often dubbing them "flying lawnmowers of death" following the notoriety of the Iranian "Shahed" drone, which became a key part of the Russian military's war in Ukraine in recent years.

Iran has denied that Russia is using its drones. Still, Ukrainian collections of undamaged drones show that in many cases the drones originated in Iran's factories in Isfahan and elsewhere. 

The country now operates drone factories not only domestically in Isfahan but across a distributed network spanning Russia's Alabuga Special Economic Zone and facilities in Tajikistan.