Iran has developed swarms of low cost drones which can overwhelm the defence systems of the billion dollar US aircraft carriers and other naval assets, an drone expert from Canada has said.
Cameron Chell said carriers liike USS Abraham Lincoln cannot defend against waves of hundreds of Iranian drones flying in formation remains. Some of the drones are bound to get through and damage and or sink the carrier.
From media
"US military assets headed to the Middle East could face a serious threat from Iranian drone swarms as reports emerge that Iran’s supreme leader has gone underground, according to a leading military drone expert.
Cameron Chell, CEO and co-founder of Draganfly, warned that Iran’s growing reliance on low-cost unmanned systems poses a credible danger to high-value US naval assets, including the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group.
“Iran’s drone capabilities are worth well into the tens of millions of dollars,” Chell told Fox News Digital.
“By pairing low-cost warheads with inexpensive delivery platforms, essentially remotely piloted aircraft, Iran has developed an effective asymmetric threat against highly sophisticated military systems.”
Chell said Iran can launch large numbers of relatively unsophisticated drones directly at naval vessels, creating saturation attacks that could overwhelm traditional defenses.
“If hundreds are launched in a short period of time, some are almost certain to get through,” Chell said.
“Modern defense systems were not originally designed to counter that kind of saturation attack. For US surface vessels operating near Iran, warships are prime targets.”
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“These drones give Iran a very credible way to threaten surface vessels,” he said. “U.S. assets in the region are large, slow-moving and easily identifiable on radar, which makes them targetable.”
“Iran’s strength lies instead in these low-cost, high-volume drone systems—particularly 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 produced in large numbers and used effectively in asymmetric warfare.
https://nypost.com/2026/01/26/us-news/iranian-drone-swarms-pose-credible-threat-to-uss-abraham-lincoln-carrier-group-defense-expert-says/
Apart from waves of drones, Iran also has waves of low cost hypersonic glide missiles to launch at the US fleet.
Diesel submarines are also reported to be circling the dinosaur aircraft carriers as they trundle through waters close to Iran and is preparing drills amid threats of an attack on Iran.
Is it too late for the US to avoid a scenario whereby one of its prized, few carriers is sunk in the Middle East in front of the eyes of the world?
The sinking of a carier would be not just a tacical defeat or a strategic defeat, it would be a geostrategical defeat. When the globe realizes US air craft carriers and bases can be destroyed by drone swarms costing a few tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, then it will spell the end of US military power.
The sinking of carriers and ships could be followed by a barrage of missiles at Israeland the USA itself
Th consequences could ripple around the globe s financial markets.
It could crash defence industry stocks and even the dollar.
For some reason, the US military top brass seem incapable or unwilling of adapting to changing circumstances and new weapons systems.
It is one thing to have out dated weapons, another, far more serious thing, to have out dated thinking.
Out dated weapons can still be deployed effectively if a commander has an up to date concept.
But what can be said about a commander who ignores the evidence, facts showing their prize military assets can be destroyed by new weapons systems?
Especially now when the US military cannot afford to be seen to be defeated by a swarms of low cost suicide drones.
From media
Iranian drone swarms pose threat to US ships, expert says as USS Abraham Lincoln approaches
Chell said Iran’s advantage is volume and cost rather than sophistication, pairing inexpensive warheads with cheap delivery platforms launched in large numbers.
Iranian Basij militia members display their drones during military manoeuvres on January 10, 2025 in Tehran, Iran.
Updated: JANUARY 26, 2026 16:44
Iran’s growing use of swarming, low-cost one-way drones presents a credible threat to high-value US naval vessels, Cameron Chell, CEO of Canadian drone company Draganfly, told Fox News Digital on Monday.
Chell said Iran’s advantage is volume and cost rather than sophistication, pairing inexpensive warheads with cheap delivery platforms launched in large numbers.
“If hundreds are launched in a short period of time, some are almost certain to get through,” he told Fox News Digital, describing how near-simultaneous arrivals can stress radar, interceptors, and close-in weapon systems.
The assessment was framed around potential risks to large, slow-moving surface vessels that are easily tracked and, in saturation scenarios, may face difficult cost-exchange rates when expending expensive interceptors against cheap attackers. Chell said such swarms give Iran “a very credible way to threaten surface vessels,” particularly if launched in coordinated waves designed to exhaust magazines and create gaps in coverage.
USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group enters CENTCOM waters in Indian Ocean
Shortly after the report, a US official told Fox News that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group had entered US Central Command waters in the Indian Ocean.
In recent days, US force movements and consultations between CENTCOM and Israel’s military leadership have intensified amid rising regional tensions. The backdrop includes years of drone and missile activity across the Red Sea and Persian Gulf arenas and evolving cooperation on counter-drone defenses among US, Israeli, and partner forces.
Chell concluded that the key operational dilemma is the imbalance between cost and capacity. “Modern defense systems were not originally designed to counter that kind of saturation attack,” he told Fox News Digital.
Late last week, the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group began moving toward the region with Aegis-equipped destroyers and reinforced air assets, while open-source tracking and regional reporting pointed to heavy transports flowing into Gulf bases and bomber activity staging from Diego Garcia. The posture was described as part of contingency planning with regional partners.
Tehran has signaled heightened readiness ahead of the carrier’s arrival. Officials warned that any attack would be treated as “all-out war,” and authorities unveiled a new public mural in central Tehran depicting a damaged US carrier alongside the warning, “If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind.”
On Friday, Donald Trump said the United States had “a lot of ships heading towards Iran,” adding that “we have an armada heading their way,” while expressing hope they would not be used. In parallel, his envoys and advisers have framed the deployment as deterrence amid concern over the regime’s crackdown.
Senator Lindsey Graham has urged striking strategic economic targets if American forces or allies are hit, repeatedly arguing for taking Iran’s oil refineries “out of the oil business” to change the regime’s calculus. His comments followed earlier US strikes and were linked to prospects for broader regional realignment.
This week, US Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper met again with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, their second meeting in a short span, as both sides coordinated on air, naval, and missile-defense cooperation amid the carrier’s approach.
The IDF highlighted a “tight strategic connection” between the militaries, and reporting noted additional US assets in theater, including F-15s, F-35s, Growlers, and THAAD batteries positioned to bolster regional defense against Iran's ballistic missile threat.
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-884596
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