The U.S. Air Force is pursuing a new breed of small, one way attack drones for its special operations forces, a move that signals a sharper, more surgical edge for clandestine missions.

The service has issued an Air Force Request for Information that outlines a vision for a purpose built FPV unmanned system that can operate in high risk environments.

“Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Special Tactics (ST) units currently lack a purpose-built First-Person View (FPV) unmanned capability,” warned the RFI, which is due April 17.

“This deficit restricts the force’s ability to employ FPV systems in specialized mission sets and limits the development of standardized Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) essential for modern, high-intensity conflict.”

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The words are clear. The Air Force wants operators who can rely on unmanned weapons to complement their already demanding missions, not hinder them with outdated gear.

The document specifies a drone with a range of at least 10 kilometers, and ideally more than 20 kilometers. It would be armed with a fragmentation warhead of 1.5 to 3 kilograms.

Flight time should be 15 to 30 minutes. This is not a toy, but a compact instrument of precision in dangerous environments where every second counts.

Guidance would be via GPS, and include the ability to function in GPS-denied environments.

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“The system needs to integrate Global Positioning System (GPS), 4G/LTE/5G cellular connectivity, true frequency hopping between bands, and an optional repeater to extend operational range to over 20 kilometers,” the RFI said.

The emphasis is on resilience, on staying in the fight when satellites fail and communications are jammed or blocked.

The project aims for a dramatic reduction in weight. The initial weight limit is no more than 30 pounds, including two drones and a ground control system, all of which would be hauled by two operators with backpacks.

The final goal is a 10-pound system that can be carried by a single operator.

This progression reflects a philosophy that speed and stealth begin with portable, easily deployable hardware.

Launch time is a priority as well. The drones should be ready for launch under three minutes, with an ideal setup time of less than a minute.

The controller device would use the Android Team Awareness Kit UAS interface. In other words, the gear must be fast, intuitive, and reliable in tense moments when precision matters most.

The attack drones will equip “specialized individuals” within AFSOC Special Tactics Teams, which normally comprise combat controllers, pararescuemen, Tactical Air Control specialists and special tactics officers.

These teams perform missions such as coordinating close air support and assisting airfield seizure operations.

The potential to field a high-speed, close-range threat that can be deployed with minimal burden on operators is a clear force multiplier for smaller units in unpredictable theaters.

But armed with kamikaze drones that can hit targets 12 miles away, Special Tactics Teams will have their own strike capability to assist capturing objectives, or defending those that have been captured.

The drones will enable integration of first-person attack drones “into core mission sets, including Global Access, Precision Strike, and Personnel Recovery,” the Air Force noted. The concept is to weave the drones into the fabric of special operations, not merely to add another gadget.

With drones dominating the battlefield in Ukraine and elsewhere, the U.S. special operations community is devoting a great deal of attention to UAVs.

This includes small missiles that can be launched from drones, and drones that can be used inside caves.

SOCOM also wants to teach some of its personnel to build and repair drones. The focus is practical capability, not lab experiments, and the drive is to ensure field teams can maintain, fix, and adapt these systems on the fly.

The push aligns with a broader, tougher posture from the administration and its strongest supporters. Proponents argue that arming small teams with compact, precision strike drones drastically improves mission success rates and reduces risk to personnel.

They say this approach matches a strategic vision that prizes speed, modularity, and overwhelming capability in austere environments. The emphasis remains on operational advantage, enabling American operators to act decisively when time and terrain press their choices.

In this context, supporters point to leadership under President Trump and the War Secretary Pete Hegseth as driving a practical, results-oriented path.

They contend that these drones fit a philosophy of empowering front line operators with the tools they need to shape outcomes before larger forces are committed.

The aim is to provide ready, reliable, offensive options that can be deployed quickly, keeping adversaries guessing and pressing them from unexpected angles.

As the RFI process unfolds, the service will weigh how best to balance effect with risk, and speed with safety. The ultimate verdict will hinge on whether the envisioned system can meet the tight weight and launch timelines while delivering reliable, GPS-denied operation and robust communications.

If the plan succeeds, special operators will gain a new, formidable capability that complements their core mission sets and sharpens the nation’s edge in high-threat environments.

The goal remains clear: give our forces the best tools to prevail, with decisive impacts on the battlefield.

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