The US military is using the new LUCAS attack drones in Operation Epic Fury (aka Operation Roaring Lion), US Central Command announced Saturday night on X\/Twitter. This is the platform\u2019s first operational use following its unveiling in late 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cCENTCOM\u2019s Task Force Scorpion Strike \u2013 for the first time in history \u2013 is using one-way attack drones in combat during Operation Epic Fury. These low-cost drones, modeled after Iran\u2019s Shaheed drones, are now delivering American-made retribution,” it said.<\/p>\n
In December<\/a>,CENTCOM announced that it had launched Task Force Scorpion Strike (TFSS) \u201cfour months after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth directed acceleration of the acquisition and fielding of affordable drone technology.\u201d<\/p>\n It explained that \u201cTFSS is designed to quickly deliver low-cost and effective drone capabilities into the hands of warfighters\u201d and that \u201cthe new task force has already formed a squadron of Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones currently based in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n The V\u2011shaped LUCAS drones, developed by SpektreWorks, are reverse engineered Shahed-136<\/a>, Iranian drones which have been used extensively by Russia in Ukraine and by Iranian\u2011backed militias across the Middle East.\u00a0<\/p>\n The American LUCAS platform, which can be launched by various mechanisms, such as catapults, rocket-assisted takeoff, or mobile ground and vehicle systems, aims to be a low\u2011cost derivative designed for rapid production and deployment.<\/p>\n While the US has not disclosed the full capabilities of the LUCAS system, the combination of Task Force Scorpion Strike on land and Task Force 59 at sea indicates a coordinated effort to build a regional drone strike network in a heavily contested region.<\/p>\n