Former marine in Arizona talks drone warfare following attack in Jordan
PHOENIX - President Joe Biden says he has a plan to respond to the drone attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. forces and injured dozens.
The Arizona National Guard says about 40 of its members were wounded. Three of those were medically evacuated, but are expected to survive.
The injuries range from cuts and bruises to traumatic brain injuries. Thirty-four of the Arizona Guardsmen injured have already returned to duty.
The Pentagon believes the attack was carried out by a terror group backed by Iran.
"I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for," Biden said.
The president spoke with the families of those killed in the drone strike and will be in Dover, Delaware on Friday for the dignified transfer of their remains.
While we're learning more about those who were killed and injured in Jordan, more questions are rising, specifically about the drone that was used to carry out the attack.
A weapons and conflict expert in Arizona says drone warfare is similar to counterterrorism, where high-tech, larger items are easier to detect and stop.
Lower-tech capabilities in weapons, where you have briefcases or bags, are more difficult to stop. It's the same thing when it comes to these small, low-tech drones.
"The drones that are being used in this way are typically like a glide path, meaning that they are more of a glider-style weapon system. That’s actually what was used against the base in Jordan," Jason Beck said, the owner of TYR Tactical in Peoria.
He's a former marine with expertise in conflict and the weapons used.
Drone warfare, he says, has been around for a while, but has seen a spike in the last four or five years.
"My understanding from some of the people I’ve talked to over there, we were having a drone that was actually coming in and being recovered at the same time, and they were mis-cuing the two different drones that were actually coming in," Beck said.
While we don't know exactly what type of drone was used in the attack in Jordan, Beck suspects it wasn't a large one.
The more high-tech the drone is, the easier it is to detect. This one he says, was likely very low-tech, flying undetected to the military base.
Dozens of Arizona National Guardsmen hurt in Jordan drone attack
Arizona National Guardsmen were among the wounded in a deadly drone attack on an outpost in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border. "Wounds range from cuts and bruises to traumatic brain injuries ..."
"The problem with that is it can actually stay very, very low velocity. It can stay up for a very long period of time," Beck said. "It takes very little energy or a level of intelligence."
The low-tech drones can hover in low airspace for a significant amount of time, and they're pretty cheap. It's the technology on board that can make them more expensive and considered more high-tech.
"A lot of the drones that they’re actually using over there, meaning that they’re not traveling at a high rate of speed, they are able to stay at a lower ground capability. But they’re single-strike weapons, meaning they’re used one time, and they’re done," Beck explained.
The Pentagon explicitly said the Israel-Hamas war is not spreading, but without a strong counterattack, Beck says he believes these attacks will continue to happen.