The US Army is putting its own twist on Iran’s Shahed-136, kicking off tests of a one-way attack drone it said was reverse-engineered from the infamous loitering munition.
Called LUCAS, short for Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System, the drone mirrors the Shahed’s core design but adds US-driven upgrades, including an “extensive range” profile and built-in autonomy.
Through a mesh network, multiple LUCAS units can “talk” to each other to coordinate swarming attacks.
Roughly 10 feet (3 meters) long with an 8-foot (2.4-meter) wingspan, the delta-wing drone is reportedly optimized for long loiter times.
It is also built for flexible launches, whether it is flung from a catapult, boosted by rockets, or deployed straight off a vehicle.
Under Evaluation
LUCAS is now running trials at the US Army’s Yuma Proving Ground with inert payloads as engineers work through what warhead it will eventually carry.
Officials emphasized that the system is being designed for low-cost, high-volume production across multiple manufacturers.
“There is a price point that we want to produce a lot of these in a rapid fashion,” said Colonel Nicholas Law, Director of Experimentation Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research & Engineering.
“It’s not a single manufacturer: it’s designed to go to multiple manufacturers to be built in mass quantities.”
At roughly $35,000 each, LUCAS aims to deliver long-range punch at a fraction of what conventional munitions typically cost.
