Defense News – Unmanned

US Confirms First Combat Use of LUCAS One-Way Attack Drone in Iran Strikes

U.S. Central Command confirmed that the LUCAS one‑way attack drone was employed for the first time in combat during Saturday’s airstrikes on Iran under Operation Epic Fury. The low‑cost autonomous kamikaze, reverse‑engineered from the Iranian Shahed‑136, struck IRGC command and control sites, air‑defense nodes, missile launch points and military airfields. Built by Arizona’s SpektreWorks, the 180‑lb system carries a 40‑pound payload roughly twice the explosive power of a Hellfire missile and costs about $35,000 per unit. The strike was executed by the newly formed Task Force Scorpion Strike, a Special Operations‑led squadron capable of launching the drones from ships, catapults or mobile ground platforms.