According to a leading military drone expert, as reports surface that Iran’s supreme leader has gone underground, U.S. military assets bound for the Middle East may encounter a significant threat from Iranian drone swarms.
Cameron Chell, CEO and co-founder of, cautioned that Iran’s increasing reliance on low-cost unmanned systems poses a credible danger to high-value U.S. naval assets, such as the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group.
“Iran’s drone capabilities are worth well into the tens of millions of dollars,” Chell told Digital.
“By combining low-cost warheads with inexpensive delivery platforms, essentially remotely piloted aircraft, Iran has developed an effective asymmetric threat against highly sophisticated military systems.”
Chell stated that Iran can launch a large number of relatively unsophisticated drones directly at naval vessels, creating saturation attacks that could overpower traditional defenses.
“If hundreds are launched in a short span of time, some are almost certain to penetrate,” Chell said.
“Modern defense systems were not initially designed to counter that type of saturation attack. For operating near Iran, warships are prime targets.”
This warning comes as a senior U.S. official confirmed to Digital that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group has not yet entered U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility in the Indian Ocean.
“It is close, but technically not in CENTCOM yet,” the source said. This indicates that the carrier strike group is not yet in a position to strike Iran.
U.S. officials say Washington is strengthening its military stance in response to the growing instability within Iran, enhancing its presence by air, land, and sea while closely monitoring developments in Syria.
A squadron of has been deployed to the region, and C-17 aircraft carrying heavy equipment have arrived.
Once the aircraft carrier strike group enters the CENTCOM area of operations, which should be soon, it will still take several days before the strike is fully operational.
Chell noted that U.S. and allied militaries are rapidly developing defenses, but there remains uncertainty regarding the new capabilities of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier groups for managing multiple Iranian drones flying in formation. He emphasized that Iran’s drone fleet is a concern.
“These drones provide Iran with a very credible means to threaten surface vessels,” he said. “U.S. assets in the region are large, slow-moving, and easily detectable on radar, making them vulnerable to targeting.”
“Iran’s strength lies in these low-cost, high-volume drone systems—especially one-way strike drones designed to fly into a target and detonate.”
Chell explained that Iran gained an early advantage in what are known as Category One and Category Two drone systems—low-cost platforms that can be mass-produced and effectively utilized in asymmetric warfare.
“Category Three systems are an entirely different matter,” he said. “In that area, Iran is decades behind the United States.”
The U.S. military buildup coincides with. Protests broke out on Dec. 28 amid escalating public discontent.
The (HRANA) stated that the casualty figures had reached 5,459 as of Sunday, with 17,031 cases under investigation.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been reported to have moved into a fortified underground shelter in Tehran after senior officials evaluated an increased risk of a potential U.S. strike, according to.
President also addressed the deployment on Jan. 21, telling reporters, “We have a large flotilla heading in that direction, and we’ll see what occurs. We have a substantial force moving towards Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re closely observing them.”