Day six of the US–Israel war with Iran has seen drone attacks spill across the region, turning skies from Iraq to the Mediterranean into contested airspace dotted with buzzing engines and sudden fireballs, defence officials say.

US bases in Iraq and Syria reported “persistent swarms” of Iranian‑supplied kamikaze drones, forcing troops into bunkers as C‑RAM guns and Patriot batteries spat streams of tracer fire overhead. Several impact sites near logistics yards and fuel depots left craters and burning vehicles, with multiple soldiers wounded by shrapnel.

Over the Gulf, American and allied warships faced waves of low‑flying Shahed‑style drones skimming just meters above the water. Navy commanders say most were shot down by ship‑mounted guns and electronic jamming, but one vessel suffered damage to its aft deck after debris from an intercepted UAV detonated close aboard.

Inside Israel, the air force scrambled F‑35s and air‑defence batteries to counter long‑range drones launched from western Iran and proxy militias. Sirens wailed in Haifa and the Negev as residents filmed black silhouettes streaking across the sky before exploding under interceptor fire. At least one drone fragment is believed to have hit an industrial site, sparking a brief blaze.

Tehran hails the growing drone campaign as a “people’s air force” capable of bleeding US and Israeli power at low cost. Washington and Jerusalem counter that they are hunting launch sites “relentlessly,” but privately concede that the sheer number and spread of small, expendable UAVs are stretching sensors, nerves and ammunition stocks.

As another night falls over a humming, anxious region, one thing is clear: the war is no longer just about missiles and jets — it is being fought drone by drone, in a battlespace that now seems to be everywhere.