How to Annihilate a U.S. Air Base with a $100 Drone: A SEAL TEAM Red Cell Fever Dream

Ukraine’s recent drone strike against Russia should be a lesson for American air defense.

Let’s be honest—Ukraine has been putting on a masterclass in modern asymmetric warfare.

While Russia flexes its rusting Cold War hardware, Ukrainian Special Ops (mentored by western SOF) and DIY drone geeks have been curb-stomping supply depots, oil refineries, and airfields with off-the-shelf quadcopters with deadly duct tape ingenuity.

They’re not just fighting the Russians—they’re fighting a legacy of arrogance and winning with 3D printers and a few GoPros strapped to flying C4 and getting better and more sophisticated as the war drags on.

So what happens when America takes notes?

It dawned on me while I was in Oregon at my son’s high school graduation…What if Marcinko’s SEAL TEAM Red Cell—the original military black-ops troublemakers who once broke into U.S. bases just to prove a point—got reactivated with modern tech, a box of DIY drones, with inspiration from Ukraine’s playbook?

Buckle up, buttercup. It’s not just plausible. It’s terrifyingly doable, and this should be a wake-up call for Hegseth’s DOD.

Red Cell 2.0: The Ghosts of SEALs Past, Upgraded for Drone War

Back in the day, Red Cell was what happened when you gave Navy SEALs too much Red Bull and told them to break the rules.

Their mission? Penetrate “secure” U.S. military installations to expose just how full of crap the term “secure” really was and they did the job a little too good. It’s one of the reasons the SEAL TEAM 6 Commander, Dick Marcinko ended up in a military prison. Read the book, Red Cell, if you haven’t.

From WikiPedia

In June of 1985, Red Cell attacked Naval Submarine Base New London and Coast Guard Station New London located in New London, Connecticut. Pre-mission reconnaissance was conducted beforehand; in one notable incident, Red Cell was able to drive a small boat flying the Soviet flag close enough to Naval Submarine Base New London’s Naval Submarine Support Facility (NSSF) to take photos of the dry docks and other facilities. Members of Red Cell were able to strike at the base’s ordnance facility, hospital, communications center, and headquarters buildings, and were even able to plant explosives in the control room of a Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine. However, Marcinko got into an altercation with the base commander during debriefing, which resulted in the base commander writing Lyons a letter of complaint.

Red Cell Ops were so bold it would’ve made Churchill drop his cigar in admiration.

Now imagine that same team, today, armed with:

Ukraine-inspired FPV kamikaze drones

$20,000 of spare parts and lithium batteries

AI-assisted targeting

A Red Bull IV drip and no leash

And their target? A U.S. air base so “complacently prepared” that it’s practically inviting the attack.

Attack Scenario: A Base Becomes a Bonfire

Let’s say Red Cell hits a stateside base using the Ukrainian strike model:

Payload Prep: Borrowing a page from Ukraine, the team rigs drones with HE, thermite, and glorified Molotovs.

Diversion: Phone in a tip about an explosive-laden truck that will ram the front gate to divert resources and attention. Then…

Swarm Strike parked aircraft, and don’t forget the fuel depot.

Psych Ops: Add in a deepfake video of the base commander being held hostage…and this entire operation is a distraction from the real operation that is TBD coming to a nuclear installation near you.

It’s not a stretch. Ukraine hit a Russian airfield thousands of miles behind the lines with a drone swarm. And they didn’t just annoy the Russians—they humiliated them.

That’s the real lesson: it’s not just about destruction. It’s about domination through innovation.

Old-school SOF violence with new-school tech disruption. You don’t need F-22s when you’ve got drones and a fight to pick.

So, how should we prepare?

Drone Denial Zones and AI-Enhanced Detection: Spot the swarm before it’s at your doorstep.

Aggressive Red Teaming: Hire guys like me to break stuff before the real enemy does.

Vertical Security Planning: It’s not just about fences anymore. You need airspace security like your life depends on it—because it does.

Final Thought: Ukraine Is the Warning Shot

Ukraine didn’t just give us inspiration—they handed us a blueprint. If we don’t evolve, we deserve to be embarrassed. Or worse.

This isn’t theory. It’s reality, just waiting for someone bold enough to test it.

*Brandon Webb and SOFREP interviewed the founder of SEAL TEAM 6 and Red Cell a few years back. You can watch the full series in our video section here.