U.S. Air Force is set to create a new specialized unit in 2026 tasked with developing combat methods using cheap attack unmanned aerial vehicles.
Concept development for such a unit started back in spring this year, with the project goal being to saturate forces with combat units that could fight using kamikaze drone swarms against a formidable adversary like China.
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According to Air and Space Forces Magazine, if this concept's implementation follows the agreed schedule, the U.S. Air Force will officially include such units in its structure approximately by early 2030s. Program details are still being worked out.
It's worth emphasizing that while procuring sufficient quantities of attack drones is undoubtedly an important issue, equally critical is determining how much and what kind of personnel such a unit will require, what tactics will be used, what range and other specifications the drones need, what will deliver them to the battlefield for deployment, etc.
It's currently unknown which specific unmanned systems will arm the unit, although fixed-wing drones will likely receive preference over quadcopters, as the former are better suited for long-range strike missions for obvious reasons.
Drone development in the U.S. is connected, among other things, with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's initiative, who actively promotes equipping American forces with unmanned aerial vehicles of various types.
Sometimes these are truly correct steps forward, like plans to purchase 340,000 FPV and other drones with the goal of maximally reducing prices in subsequent batches.
And sometimes rather comical situations, when an American copy of the Shahed-type UAV turned out to be a mockup because the main component for it simply does not exist.
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