U.S. Turns Iran’s Own Drone Strategy Against It With New Low-Cost Kamikaze Drones
US forces turned Iran’s own drone playbook against them on Saturday – deploying Iranian-inspired kamikaze drones for the first time in combat during Operation Epic Fury.
The one-way drones — known as Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) — were launched for the first time to strike Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command hubs, air defenses, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields across Iran, US Central Command said.
“CENTCOM’s Task Force Scorpion Strike – for the first time in history – is using one-way attack drones in combat during Operation Epic Fury,” CENTCOM, which oversees America’s military operations in the Middle East, said on X Saturday afternoon.
“These low-cost drones, modeled after Iran’s Shahed drones, are now delivering American-made retribution.”
While Iran’s Shahed-136 drones use GPS to strike buildings and military sites on command, the US version, built by Arizona’s SpektreWorks, is much lighter and can be launched by catapult or rocket-assisted takeoff, Defense News reported.
Each drone costs roughly $35,000.
The first drone debuted during a December drill with the USS Santa Barbara in the Arabian Gulf.
“The President ordered bold action, and our brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen are answering the call,” CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said on X.
The US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran Saturday morning, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
President Trump confirmed the dictator’s death, calling it “justice.”
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS.”
The Israel Defense Forces also confirmed 40 top Iranian officials were killed in the airstrikes — including the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran has since fired retaliatory missiles and drones at US bases and facilities in multiple Middle Eastern countries — from Bahrain and Qatar to Kuwait, the UAE and Jordan — as well as attacks on Israeli sites.
