The lethal drone attack on Sunday in Jordan was the third hit in six months on the base known as Tower 22, highlighting a gap in US defences that the Pentagon is scrambling now to fill.
At Tower 22, there were two previous attacks by one-way drones, according to a Defence official, who was not authorised to comment publicly.
Sunday's attack by a one-way drone killed three US troops and wounded at least 34 more at the base on Jordan's border with Syria.
The White House has blamed Iranian-backed militias for the attack, which have become increasingly dangerous in recent weeks. More than 150 such attacks targetted US bases in the Middle East since Israel's invasion of Gaza, media reports said.
Sunday's attack was the first ever to kill US troops, and President Joe Biden and the Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin have vowed retaliation at a "time and place of their choosing".
At Tower 22, there were two previous attacks by one-way drones, according to a Defence official, who was not authorised to comment publicly.
The drone on Sunday detonated its payload of explosives near living quarters at the logistics base where about 350 US soldiers and airmen are based.
One-way drones hit a target without an operator in charge to steer them after launching, according to the Army.
In July, the Pentagon's Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems held tests in Arizona for weapons to destroy one-way drones. The event was held after an analysis determined that there was a gap in defences for the "emerging threat" of one-way drones, according to an Army's new release.
High-powered microwaves showed promise in knocking down the drones, Army Major General Sean Gainey, Director of the counter-drone office, had said at an event in November in Washington then. They can also be shot down with missiles, but it will take a variety of defences to counter the threat.
"There isn't a silver bullet solution out there," Gainey added.
President Joe Biden blamed Iran for Sunday's attack, a charge the Pentagon has been making for months. The administration has accused Iran of training and equipping the militants to use drones, rockets and missiles in their attacks throughout the Middle East, USA TODAY report said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday during a meeting with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that Iran was behind the attack and those by Houthi militants in Yemen.
"Iran continues to destabilise the region, this includes backing terrorists who attack our ships in the Red Sea and the US is leading international efforts to end these attacks," Stoltenberg said, according to a press pool report.
The emergence of one-way attack drones suggests the use of improvised explosive devices, the number one killer of US troops during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As with drones, militants used cheap, often off-the-shelf materials to build weapons that exploited Pentagon vulnerability, military experts said.
With IEDs, the weakness targetted was the thin armour and flat bottom of Humvees. Today, that weakness is protecting the airspace over what can be sprawling bases in the desert from small, cheap drones.
At the height of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, a decade ago, the Pentagon launched an office similar to Gainey's -- the Joint IED Defeat Organisation -- and spent tens of billions of dollars on efforts to protect troops from roadside bombs, including more than $45 billion for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected trucks to replace Humvees, media reports said.
Gainey, according to a Pentagon account of his speech in November, said all troops will likely be required to defend against drones as they will shape the future battlefield. Tragically, the future of warfare appears to have arrived for US troops.
New Urban Community Health Centre to reduce patients rush in GBP Hospital: CM Dr Manik Saha
Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Thursday laid foundation stone of 50-bed Urban Community Health Center here at Agartala and said that the present government is working diligently to improve health infrastructure and services in the state.
Govt determined to develop sports infrastructure in Tripura: CM Dr Manik Saha
Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Thursday inaugurated football turf, athletics track and hockey ground here at Agartala Dasarath Deb Sports Complex at Badharghat and said that the government is determined to develop facilities and platform for sports persons in the state.
Mistake that benefits no one: World leaders react to Trump's 'reciprocal tariffs'
As US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs," the world reacted sharply against the decision, with some calling it a "mistake that benefits no one" while others called it a violation of Washington's obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Indian pharmaceutical exports get reprieve from Trump’s reciprocal tariffs
Because of the importance of India’s pharmaceuticals to US healthcare, those exports will get a reprieve from President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, according to the White House.
India stands less impacted by Trump tariffs than global peers: Industry
As US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries, including India, industry experts said on Thursday that it appears India's export competitiveness to the US market stands far less impacted on a relative basis compared to global peers.
IAF pilot killed, another critical as Jaguar fighter jet crashes in Gujarat
An Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot lost his life, while another sustained critical injuries after their two-seater Jaguar fighter jet crashed near Gujarat's Jamnagar Airfield, the IAF confirmed on Thursday.
PM Modi emplanes for Thailand; to attend BIMSTEC summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday emplaned for Thailand on a state visit to attend the 6th BIMSTEC Summit, with his visit also set to bolster bilateral relations between New Delhi and Bangkok.
Bhavan’s Little Learners celebrate annual programme
The Bhavan’s Little Learners, Bordowali celebrated annual programme and organised prize distribution ceremony here at Agartala Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhavan on Wednesday.