The Pentagon is preparing to ramp up large-scale production of LUCAS strike drones, modeled on Iran’s Shahed UAVs, Bloomberg reports, citing U. S. Deputy Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael.

According to him, Washington intends to establish domestic mass production of these systems and retain the ability to rapidly scale output if required. He noted that such drones have already demonstrated their effectiveness and are viewed as a practical addition to the arsenal.

The LUCAS program focuses on one-way attack drones being developed by SpektreWorks. Bloomberg уточняет, что подразделения, оснащенные этими системами, были переброшены на Ближний Восток еще до начала военной операции против Ирана.

Each unit is estimated to cost around $55,000, with a range exceeding 400 nautical miles. These drones are expected to partially replace far more expensive cruise missiles, which typically cost millions of dollars.

Earlier, The New York Times described Iran’s use of Shahed drones in the conflict with the United States as highly lethal, noting that they were deployed against multiple U.S. military facilities across the Middle East. The newspaper reported that up to 2,000 drones had been launched since the start of the U.S. and Israeli military operation against Iran.

CNN, citing its own source, reported that Washington had underestimated both the effectiveness and the scale of Iran’s drone capabilities. Despite prior experience in Ukraine, where UAVs play a major role, the U.S. was not fully prepared for the extent of the threat or the impact of their widespread use.