The American soldiers killed in an Iran drone strike while working in Kuwait had no warning that anything was imminent, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The drone was flying slow and low to the ground and evaded U.S. air defenses before striking the Shuaiba port on the Persian Gulf, killing six service members, two U.S. officials told the Journal.
The Pentagon has struggled to figure out how to defend against small drones that fly low to the ground, evading traditional detection methods, the Journal reported.
Two years ago, three American soldiers were killed when an Iranian drone struck an installation at Tower 22 in Jordan.
The troops in Kuwait were with the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, based in Fort Knox, which manages the flow of equipment and personnel to the port, an official told the Journal.
Leading up to the attack on Iran, the Pentagon had moved additional missile defenses into the region to bolster its protections, officials told the Journal.
While the Pentagon has several counter-drone systems, they are not 100% effective, as evidenced by the deadly attack in Kuwait, the Journal said.
"Every once in a while you might have one," Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters Monday.
"Unfortunately, we call it a squirter that, that makes its way through. And in that particular case it happened to hit a tactical operation center," Hegseth added. "That was fortified. But these are powerful weapons."
Iran has launched drone strikes throughout the region since Saturday's attack.
The Pentagon has been experimenting with new ways to take down drones, including using a high-energy laser, the Journal reported.
The U.S. military has deployed this system abroad and more recently on the southern border, the Journal said.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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