Copies of Iranian Shaheds, US suicide drones set to be deployed to Mideast
The US military has created a task force to field its first squadron of new kamikaze attack drones in the Middle East, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday.
The US military has created a task force to field its first squadron of new kamikaze attack drones in the Middle East, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday.
US arms developers reverse-engineered a captured Shahed drone from Iran to produce the new model, CNN reported citing a US defense official.
The unit, called Task Force Scorpion Strike, was formed after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Pentagon to speed up the delivery of low-cost drone technology to troops.
“This new task force sets the conditions for using innovation as a deterrent,” CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said in a statement.
“Equipping our skilled warfighters faster with cutting-edge drone capabilities showcases US military innovation and strength, which deters bad actors.”
CENTCOM said the task force has already built a squadron using what it calls Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System drones, or LUCAS, developed by the Arizona-based company SpektreWorks.
'Flipping the script'
The drones can fly long distances, operate autonomously and be launched by catapult, rocket-assisted systems or mobile vehicles.
The LUCAS drones were created after developers reverse-engineered a Shahed drone from Iran, which the US captured a few years ago, CNN reported citing a US defense official.
CNN's report said the defense official acknowledged that the US military’s focus on larger and more expensive precision systems had “put our forces at a disadvantage” against cheap drones like those used by Iran.
“But now we’re flipping the script,” the official added.
The official declined to say how many drones the new squadron has, saying only there were “many” and more would be added. Each drone costs about $35,000, the official said.
'Low-cost option'
The official also told CNN that a damaged Iranian Shahed drone captured by the United States several years ago was examined by US companies, which worked to reverse-engineer elements of the system and use those findings in the development of LUCAS.
The official described the result as a US-produced, low-cost attack drone built to meet the needs of current conflicts.
Task Force Scorpion Strike, which helped lead the development of the drones, consists of nearly two dozen personnel, led by service members from Special Operations Command Central.
Not all of the personnel are based in the Middle East, CNN's report said citing the official.
The Strait of Hormuz is a key waterway where Iranian officials have at times warned they could restrict traffic during periods of tension.
The IRGC Navy public relations office said the drill is named after Mohammad Nazeri, a commander and founder of the IRGC Navy’s special forces unit who was killed in 2016, and will run for two days.
File photo of Iranian taekwondo athlete Rozhan Goudarzi competing at a domestic tournament in Iran.
Earlier this week, Iran began Sahand-2025, a five-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) counter-terrorism drill led by IRGC Ground Forces around Shabestar near Tabriz in East Azarbaijan province.
Designed by Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff with input from the foreign ministry and the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, the exercise targets the bloc’s “Three Evils” – terrorism, separatism and extremism.
MuddyWater, also known as Mango Sandstorm or TA450, has links to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and National Security and has targeted government and infrastructure in the Middle East and beyond since at least 2017.
Researchers said victims in Israel included technology, engineering, manufacturing, local government and education sectors. They said the group used new custom tools to improve its ability to hide and stay active inside networks, including a backdoor called MuddyViper that can gather system data, run commands, move files and steal Windows credentials and browser data.
The report said the attackers used Fooder, a loader that reflects malware into memory and at times imitates the classic Snake game, to deploy MuddyViper. It said the group also used several credential stealers and avoided interactive sessions to reduce detection.
Researchers said the campaign relied on spearphishing emails that sent victims to installers for remote monitoring tools hosted on free file sharing sites. They said the operators used a range of malware, including VAX One, which imitates products such as Veeam and AnyDesk.
Past MuddyWater operations include attacks in Saudi Arabia and campaigns that overlapped with Lyceum, suggesting the group may serve as an initial access broker for other Iran linked actors.
