(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. military has deployed its first squadron of one-way attack drones to the Middle East, employing a U.S.-built drone that was reverse-engineered from Iran’s Shahed drones that have been used by Iran against Israel and by Russia against Ukraine.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Wednesday the establishment of Task Force Scorpion Strike (TFSS) that will oversee the first of its kind operational deployment by the U.S. military.

The employment of the new one-way drones is an indication of how low-cost drone technology has changed the battlefield in the wake of the war in Ukraine and the war between Israel and Iran.

A common thread in both those conflicts is Iran’s one-way Shahed drones, capable of carrying explosives over long distances. Used by Iran to targe

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