The US has acknowledged using low-cost one-way attack drones in combat for the first time during Operation Epic Fury.
In an X post, CENTCOM said: CENTCOM’s Task Force Scorpion Strike – for the first time in history – is using one-way attack drones in combat during Operation Epic Fury. These low-cost drones, modeled after Iran’s Shahed drones, are now delivering American-made retribution.
The drones, designated the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS), were launched from ground-based platforms by Task Force Scorpion Strike (TFSS) as part of Operation Epic Fury, a joint U.S.-Israeli operation that targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command facilities, air defense systems, missile sites, and other military infrastructure.
CENTCOM described the LUCAS as a reverse-engineered adaptation of Iran’s Shahed-136 loitering munition, a design that has been widely used by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Shahed-136 Replica
The LUCAS drones are replicas of Shahed-136 and were developed after reverse-engineering a Shahed drone that the US seized a few years ago, a US defense official said.
LUCAS drones have an extensive range and are designed to operate autonomously. They can be launched using different mechanisms, including catapults, rocket-assisted takeoff, and mobile ground and vehicle systems, CENTCOM said in a press statement.
LUCAS has been developed by Arizona-based defense contractor SpektreWorks. It is designed to provide a scalable and affordable option for tactical drone warfare, much like the Shaheds. The triangular delta-wing LUCAS drone is roughly 10 feet long and has an 8-foot wingspan. Its delta-wing design is optimised for long-range loitering.
Powered by a two-cylinder DA-215 engine (215 cm³), LUCAS contrasts with the Shahed’s four-cylinder Limbach L550E clone, providing enhanced fuel efficiency and a reduced acoustic signature.
Its modular, open architecture accommodates various payloads, including reconnaissance sensors, electronic warfare modules, and explosive warheads, thereby facilitating adaptability across a wide range of mission profiles.
LUCAS accommodates various launch methods, including Rocket-Assisted Take-Off (RATO) and truck-based deployment, thereby facilitating rapid utilisation by personnel with limited specialisation. It can also be deployed on ships.
In contrast to the single-use Shahed-136, LUCAS can be reused in specific configurations, such as reconnaissance missions, thereby improving its cost efficiency. It operates on 28V and 12V power supplies, supporting a wide range of payloads.
Its Multi-domain Unmanned Systems Communications (MUSIC) mesh network enables autonomous swarm operations and network-centric strikes. Additionally, this network permits LUCAS to serve as a communication relay, a vital capability in contested environments where conventional communication channels may be disrupted.
LUCAS costs roughly $35,000, making it a low-cost, scalable system that provides cutting-edge capabilities at a fraction of the cost of traditional long-range US weapons.
EurAsian Times reported that the US Air Force (USAF) had asked the industry to produce identical copies of the Shahed-136 drone to develop and test defenses against the Iranian-designed system.
According to the Request for Information (RFI), the USAF wanted to buy 16 of these Shahed-136 lookalikes, with the option to buy 20 more at a later stage, to test the ‘next-generation’ of its counter-drone systems against these threats.
“The United States Government (USG) intends to purchase approximately 16 counter Unmanned Aerial System (cUAS) drones to support the next generation of cUAS weapons program development and integration.
“To support weapons development and integration of these weapon systems, the USG requires that the Class 3 Unmanned Aerial Target System be a 1:1 copy (form, fit, and function) of a reverse-engineered Shahed-136 suicide drone,” the solicitation said.
The RFI also mentioned that adversarial countries are currently using the Shahed-136 drones, underscoring that the US considers the Iranian-designed drones a significant threat and is trying not only to develop such capabilities itself but also to boost its defenses against them.
“This acquisition aims to leverage drones representative of the Shahed-136, which is currently used by adversarial countries and is being encountered in multiple areas of operation,” it added.
The USAF RFI said that the Iranian Shahed-136 drones are “utilized by the Russians in Ukraine,” are “difficult to detect, fly low, and descend to one hundred meters before hitting the target.”
Via: ET Online Desk
