The Pentagon is deploying an attack drone that’s based on an Iranian model used against American and allied forces overseas, a tacit recognition of how the US defense sector has lagged in developing cheap technology mastered by cash-strapped adversaries.
The US Central Command said it had established Task Force Scorpion Strike with a squadron of small, lightweight drones produced by Arizona-based SpektreWorks. The drones can be used for one-way attacks, reconnaissance missions and maritime strikes, among other tasks.
SpektreWorks designed the system by reverse-engineering Iran’s Shahed-136 drone, which Iran and its proxies have used to attack US military and ...