US Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooper provided an update on the US operations against Iran on Tuesday. In the statement, he discussed the use of new, one-way attack drones, which were used for the first time.
The development of the new V-wing, or delta-shaped, drones has been discussed by CENTCOM in the past. Last December, CENTCOM “announced a new task force for the US military’s first one-way-attack drone squadron based in the Middle East.”
At the time, CENTCOM said it had “launched Task Force Scorpion Strike (TFSS) four months after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth directed acceleration of the acquisition and fielding of affordable drone technology. TFSS is designed to quickly deliver low-cost and effective drone capabilities into the hands of warfighters.”
The new drones are called LUCAS, an acronym for Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones. They are based in the Middle East.
“LUCAS drones deployed by CENTCOM have an extensive range and are designed to operate autonomously,” CENTCOM said. “They can be launched with different mechanisms to include catapults, rocket-assisted takeoff, and mobile ground and vehicle systems.”
Cooper has now provided some details about the strikes on Iran. The US has already hit about 2,000 targets with some 2,000 munitions in four days of war, or roughly 100 hours, he said.
Among the munitions being used are the new drones operated by Task Force Scorpion, Cooper said, adding that countless one-way attack drones have been launched with massive effects.
“These drones were originally an Iranian design,” he said.
The Iranian drone they are modeled on, the Shahed 136, was taken back to the US, reverse-engineered, made better, and fired at Iran.
Epic Fury, what the US calls its part in the war against Iran, has provided the US with an opportunity to use new systems like these drones.
“TFSS consists of about two dozen troops that will oversee the establishment and operations of drones, the US official told us, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details,” The War Zone (TWZ) reported last December. “The delta-wing LUCAS drone, which is roughly 10 feet long and has a wingspan of eight feet, was developed by Arizona-based SpektreWorks in cooperation with the US military.”
The SpektreWorks website shows various unmanned systems the company makes.
THE DRONE that is based on the Shahed 136 is called FLM 136, the SpektreWorks website says, adding: “Reverse-engineered for authentic threat emulation. With a professional airframe, broad performance capabilities, and multiple launch options, it offers unparalleled mission versatility. Its large payload capacity, drop-in module compatibility, and multiple auxiliary bays ensure ongoing compatibility to meet your evolving needs.”
Kamikaze drones have proven cheap and successful
The one-way attack drones, or kamikaze drones, are part of the new arsenal, because they have proven cheap and successful in the hands of the Iranians. They have commonalities to cruise missiles, but cruise missiles are very expensive. Cheap drones enable countries to create a kind of instant air force.
For Western militaries, they are also helpful. Some types of attack drones are called loitering munitions.
Israel has pioneered different types of loitering munitions, such as the Harpy and Harop, which are made by Israel Aerospace Industries, as well as the Hero line of munitions, which are made by UVision. UVision’s US subsidiary is also supplying these to the US military.
Militaries are acquiring a plethora of drones for use in attacks. Back in the day, when drones were first armed, missiles were put on a Predator Drone. That was arming a drone that is basically a large model aircraft.
The concept of making the drone into a weapon, rather than using it like a plane, is what enabled the new loitering munitions and one-way attack drones.
One-way attack drones are different from loitering munitions, because they usually can’t hover over the target for a long time. They may not always have a so-called “man in the loop,” meaning, they fly a one-way mission and slam into a target.
A loitering munition can usually loiter over the target and even wait for an opportunity to strike, or its strike can be called off.
In some ways, the cheap Iranian Shahed 136, which the US and others are examining for lessons after its widespread use by Iran and Russia, has commonalities with the German V-1 flying bomb.
This was used by the Nazis to attack London in WWII. It essentially used a gyroscope, navigated to a place over a target, and then fell out of the sky. The Iranian Shahed has improved upon this 1940s technology.
It’s likely the Shahed was also an Iranian attempt to reverse-engineer other drones they have studied, such as Israeli and American ones. As such, the technology has simply migrated back to the West, where it likely originated.