While the U.S. military is known for expensive, cutting-edge weapons, it’s now launching cheap drones as part of its airstrikes on Iran, which itself uses them and has supplied allies with the capability.
In fact, the Pentagon has deployed a copycat version of an Iranian drone that’s been used against Israel, U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf, and Ukraine.
“CENTCOM’s Task Force Scorpion Strike—for the first time in history—is using one-way attack drones in combat during Operation Epic Fury,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement. “These low-cost drones, modeled after Iran’s Shahed drones, are now delivering American-made retribution.”
The American drone is called the LUCAS and was developed by Arizona-based Spectreworks. Each one costs about $35,000, compared to price tags that can run into millions of dollars for advanced missiles. The LUCAS can also be configured for reconnaissance missions.
Iran could have seen the LUCAS coming as it was test-launched from a U.S. Navy ship in the Persian Gulf in December.
Meanwhile, Task Force Scorpion Strike is a squadron focused on one-way-attack drones—the first of its kind—and is led by personnel from U.S. Special Operations Command-Central.
It was created in December after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the acquisition and deployment of cheaper autonomous weapons be accelerated last summer.
How long will missile supply last?
The launch of low-cost drones for the first time in combat comes as experts raise concerns that the stockpile of U.S. munitions may not be able to sustain a prolonged conflict with Iran.
Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper told CNBC before the Iran strikes that the U.S. is not prepared for an extended campaign or to support allies in a longer-term war.
“We simply don’t have the defense industrial base to do that, let alone the stockpiles of key weapons such as such as Patriot and THAAD and then strike weapons su
