US Establishes New Multinational Drone Force in Middle East

The U.S. military is expanding its use of unmanned systems in the Middle East, establishing a new multinational strike force called Task Force Falcon Strike. This force, announced by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in August, will operate unmanned systems across air, surface, and subsurface domains in partnership with regional allies. The initiative marks a significant shift from experimentation to actual combat operations.

The new task force follows recent operational deployments of unmanned vessels, including the Corsair, a 7.3-meter unmanned surface vessel capable of traveling over 1,800 km. In June, a Corsair assisted in the rescue of two U.S. service members after a helicopter crash near the Strait of Hormuz. Just a month later, three Corsairs were used in a suicide attack mission against an Iranian naval base in Bandar Abbas, targeting a submarine and a maintenance facility.

This move represents an acceleration of a process that began in 2021 with the establishment of Task Force 59 to integrate unmanned systems and artificial intelligence. Initially used for intelligence gathering, these systems have since been tested in numerous exercises. The conflict with Iran has further spurred the transition to offensive capabilities, with CENTCOM previously forming Task Force Scorpion Strike for one-way attack drones and utilizing unmanned surface vessels in strikes against Iranian targets in July.

However, the operational deployment has also highlighted vulnerabilities. In September, Iran announced it had captured an American Anduril Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle that experienced a malfunction during a survey mission. CENTCOM stated it was an older model that did not carry sensitive data. Additionally, two Iranian boats attempted to seize a Saildrone unmanned surface vessel in the Strait of Hormuz but were destroyed by U.S. forces.

The cost of these systems, with a single Corsair estimated at $1.1 million, raises questions about their disposability despite their ability to reduce risk to human personnel. Experts caution that it is too early to definitively assess the future role of unmanned systems, emphasizing that current operations represent an ongoing learning process for the Navy.