USS Abraham Lincoln strike group approaches Middle East amid warnings that Iranian drone capabilities worth "tens of millions of dollars" threaten U.S. naval vessels.

Chell said Iran’s advantage is volume and cost rather than sophistication, pairing inexpensive warheads with cheap delivery platforms launched in large numbers. Iran’s growing use of swarming, low-cost one-way drones presents a credible threat to high-value US naval vessels,

Iran's drone carrier, the Shahid Bagheri, has been stationed in the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz as a direct response to US naval presence in the region

Jan 29 (Reuters) - A batch of 1,000 drones was received by the various branches of the Iranian army, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday, amid growing tensions, with the U.S. President Donald Trump warning of an attack if Tehran refuses a nuclear deal.

These recent combat-proven innovations can flip the preexisting cost imbalance that inevitably arises when intercepting large numbers of relatively inexpensive drones.

The face-off has sent diplomatic shock waves across the region, with calls for negotiations to defuse tensions drawing in key regional actors.

President Trump’s “massive armada” of warships and fighter planes near Iran mirrors the military buildup of assets in the Caribbean as the president weighs greenlighting strikes against the Islamic Republic.

For nearly half a century, Iran has prepared for a war with the United States. Unable to match America’s military power, Tehran has instead focused on ways to impose heavy costs that could shake the Middle East and the global economy.

Two of the squadron's officers were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for helping thwart the Iranian drone attack in April 2024.

And the three people believe Trump’s tough public rhetoric — not to mention his continued shifting of military resources toward the Gulf — are boxing him in to the point that some kind of strike on Iran may beinevitable.