Congresswoman Nancy Mace warns that Iran could exhaust American forces without a single victory, as the numbers show how expensive interceptors are to down Iranian drones worth just tens of thousands of dollars.
On her TikTok account, the South Carolina Republican compared the cost of American interceptors to down Iranian Shahed drones at $20,000 to $50,000 apiece, with the $4 million price tag of Patriot interceptors used to shoot them down.
“We can build cheap. We can build butter. We copied Iran’s own drone for $35,000. We can build one of those,” Mace claims. “The Pentagon finally built something affordable, and they had to steal the design from somebody else. They stole it from Iran. We stole it from Iran.”
But that’s not all, she continued, addressing Congress. “So back to the president’s deal. The Senate needs to vote on the War Powers Act,” Mace continued. “And when it costs $4 million to stop a $50,000 drone, the enemy doesn’t need to win. He just needs to keep sending us the bill. He just needs to keep dropping those 50,000 drones until we’re broke, until we no longer have any more missiles.”
“And by the way, Iran still has plenty of ballistic missiles,” she adds before concluding her post with the request from her viewers: “I see you’re not following me. Hit the follow button now.”
Third-party estimates corroborate Mace’s numbers. According to Euronews, Shahed Aviation Industries created the Shahed in 2016, and it is affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The drones cost $20,000-$50,000, while the Patriot interceptors used to counter them cost $4 million apiece. The media suggested that this cost disparity is a major pillar of Iran’s defense strategy, which aims to make war too expensive for an enemy to afford.
The pressure was visible as soon as the war began. According to The Kyiv Independent, more than 800 Patriot interceptors were used to destroy Iranian drones in just three days after the war began. In turn, Arab News cites a closed-door briefing that took place on March 3, during which Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine reported to legislators that the drones’ cheapness, small size, and capability to operate in swarms allowed them to overwhelm air defenses, as was reported by CNN on the same briefing.
The $35,000 drone Mace mentioned in her post is the Low Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, also known as LUCAS. According to Newsweek, SpektreWorks, an Arizona company, produced the drone, and its producer claims the aircraft has been reverse-engineered and has a wingspan similar to Iran’s Shahed 136. Also, according to Fortune, U.S. Central Command reported that the drones – which are modeled on Iran’s Shaheds – became the first-ever one-way attack drones to be used in combat in the course of Operation Epic Fury.
Moreover, there might be more of these drones. As per a Drone Warfare analysis, the Pentagon’s chief technology officer valued the drone family at $55,000 or less, while the inventory was limited to several dozen units two weeks into the campaign.
Mace calls to vote on the War Powers Act, as the Senate revisits the issue. According to CBS News, the Senate on Thursday rejected the resolution to limit President Donald Trump’s war powers in Iran by a 49-50 vote. Republican Senators Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Rand Paul (Kentucky), and Thom Tillis (North Carolina) joined Democrats in supporting the resolution. At the same time, Democrat John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) voted against it. CBS News adds that administrations of both parties have claimed for decades that the concurrent resolution process under the 1973 War Powers Resolution is unconstitutional and can’t bind a president.
According to NPR, meanwhile, the war powers measure passed the House last week with 220 votes, including seven Republicans. Also, Trump warned in a speech at the United Nations this week that a peace deal with Iran could be reached after November midterm elections. Additionally, NPR reported that at least 19 American servicemen have died in the war since February, per the Defense Department.
As Mace outlines in her podcast, she has her own proposal to end the war. As Where Is The Buzz reports, she proposed a plan to end the war with Iran in this episode.
Responses to Mace’s video largely centered on cheaper ways to bring down drones, especially lasers. According to CBS News, AeroVironment’s Locust laser system has engaged Shaheds, but a company spokesperson won’t disclose the locations. In turn, as NextBigFuture reports, the Navy’s HELIOS laser system mounted on destroyer USS Preble has shot down Iranian drones, while Israel’s Iron Beam laser has been used in combat on March 2 and 3 for the first time, costing about $2-$5 apiece.
Laser systems, however, do have some limitations. According to Norsk Luftvern, the Norwegian air defense publication, Iron Beam operates up to 10 km, loses effectiveness in dusty, foggy, and sandy conditions, and can engage only one target at a time.
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