U.S. Conducts First Combat Use of LUCAS Kamikaze Drone During Operation Epic Fury Against Iran
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U.S. Central Command confirmed on 28 February 2026 that Task Force Scorpion Strike conducted the first combat use of the Low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, LUCAS, during Operation Epic Fury against Iranian targets. The strike signals Washington’s move toward large-scale deployment of expendable, long-range drones to counter Tehran’s own one-way attack systems and reshape high-intensity strike operations.
On 28 February 2026, U.S. Central Command announced that its newly formed Task Force Scorpion Strike conducted the first operational employment of the Low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, known as LUCAS, during Operation Epic Fury against Iranian targets. The one-way attack drones, described by officials as low-cost and modeled in concept to counter Iran’s Shahed-series systems, were used to deliver precision strikes in what CENTCOM characterized as “American-made retribution.” The deployment marks the first confirmed combat use of LUCAS and reflects a broader Pentagon push to integrate expendable, long-range uncrewed strike platforms into high-intensity warfare scenarios, particularly in contested air defense environments across the Middle East.
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For illustrative purposes only, this image does not depict combat operations during Operation Epic Fury but represents the U.S. Navy’s first at-sea launch of a one-way LUCAS attack drone from a surface warship in the Arabian Gulf, highlighting progress toward ship-based unmanned strike capabilities (Picture Source: DVIDS)
LUCAS is a one-way attack drone derived from a detailed study and reverse-engineering of Iran’s Shahed-136, whose silhouette and flight profile became familiar over Ukraine and the Middle East in recent years. Open information links the system to Arizona-based SpektreWorks, which developed the FLM 136 target drone as a Shahed-style “threat emulator” and then adapted the airframe into an operational strike platform. Public specifications for the FLM 136 indicate an endurance of around six hours, a range on the order of several hundred nautical miles and a payload capacity of about 18 kg (40 lb), while cruising in the 70–80 kt band. Whether the combat-configured LUCAS retains these exact figures has not been confirmed, but the underlying design clearly sits in the “long-range, light warhead” category and is significantly smaller and lighter than the longest-range Shahed variants.
CENTCOM publicly revealed the deployment of a LUCAS squadron to the Middle East in late 2025 under a new formation, Task Force Scorpion Strike, placed within Special Operations Command Central. The unit’s mission is to field one-way attack drones at scale for operational use rather than just testing or training, with launch options including catapults, rocket-assisted takeoff and mobile ground or vehicle systems. In December 2025, U.S. Navy personnel carried out the first at-sea test launch of a LUCAS drone from the littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara in the Gulf, demonstrating that the system can be operated from compact maritime platforms as well as land bases, as reported by Army Recognition. CENTCOM officials have spoken of having “an amount that provides us with a significant level of capability,” while indicating a unit cost of roughly 35,000 dollars per drone, far below that of cruise missiles or reusable armed UAVs and consistent with the Pentagon’s push toward “affordable mass.”
During Operation Epic Fury, LUCAS moved from experimentation to combat. According to CENTCOM’s statement on the strikes, the first hours of the operation combined precision munitions launched from air, land and sea with the debut of low-cost one-way attack drones flown by Task Force Scorpion Strike. Open reporting indicates that the LUCAS drones used in this phase were ground-launched and tasked primarily against fixed Iranian military targets, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command nodes, air defense assets and missile and drone launch infrastructure, as part of a broader wave of U.S. and allied strikes. At this stage, CENTCOM has not disclosed how many LUCAS drones were fired, how many reached their objectives or the detailed battle damage results, underlining that only a limited subset of data about the system’s performance in a dense, defended environment has been made public.
Operationally, the appearance of LUCAS over Iran illustrates the role such drones can play alongside higher-end weapons rather than replacing them. Their relatively low cost and expendable character make them suitable for saturating or probing air defenses, striking targets that do not justify multi-million-dollar missiles, and forcing the adversary to expend interceptors and ammunition on each incoming track. At the same time, the LUCAS concept borrows heavily from the very systems it is meant to counter: a delta-wing pusher-propeller airframe, autonomous point-to-point navigation likely based on onboard autopilots and satellite/inertial guidance, and the ability to be launched from dispersed ground sites in large numbers. The United States is effectively adopting a version of the Shahed playbook that Iran and Russia have used extensively, but applying it within a broader architecture of crewed aircraft, cruise missiles and higher-end unmanned systems.
The confirmation of LUCAS’s first combat use during Operation Epic Fury signals a turning point in U.S. strike doctrine in the Middle East. By fielding a Shahed-derived, long-range one-way attack drone at scale and using it in a major operation against Iran, Washington is demonstrating its intention to compete directly in the domain of low-cost, attritable munitions that can be produced and deployed in quantity. Future disclosures on how often LUCAS is employed, in what numbers and in combination with which other weapons will help clarify whether it remains a niche capability or becomes a routine element of U.S. power projection and deterrence in contested airspace.
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U.S. Central Command confirmed on 28 February 2026 that Task Force Scorpion Strike conducted the first combat use of the Low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, LUCAS, during Operation Epic Fury against Iranian targets. The strike signals Washington’s move toward large-scale deployment of expendable, long-range drones to counter Tehran’s own one-way attack systems and reshape high-intensity strike operations.
On 28 February 2026, U.S. Central Command announced that its newly formed Task Force Scorpion Strike conducted the first operational employment of the Low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, known as LUCAS, during Operation Epic Fury against Iranian targets. The one-way attack drones, described by officials as low-cost and modeled in concept to counter Iran’s Shahed-series systems, were used to deliver precision strikes in what CENTCOM characterized as “American-made retribution.” The deployment marks the first confirmed combat use of LUCAS and reflects a broader Pentagon push to integrate expendable, long-range uncrewed strike platforms into high-intensity warfare scenarios, particularly in contested air defense environments across the Middle East.
For illustrative purposes only, this image does not depict combat operations during Operation Epic Fury but represents the U.S. Navy’s first at-sea launch of a one-way LUCAS attack drone from a surface warship in the Arabian Gulf, highlighting progress toward ship-based unmanned strike capabilities (Picture Source: DVIDS)
LUCAS is a one-way attack drone derived from a detailed study and reverse-engineering of Iran’s Shahed-136, whose silhouette and flight profile became familiar over Ukraine and the Middle East in recent years. Open information links the system to Arizona-based SpektreWorks, which developed the FLM 136 target drone as a Shahed-style “threat emulator” and then adapted the airframe into an operational strike platform. Public specifications for the FLM 136 indicate an endurance of around six hours, a range on the order of several hundred nautical miles and a payload capacity of about 18 kg (40 lb), while cruising in the 70–80 kt band. Whether the combat-configured LUCAS retains these exact figures has not been confirmed, but the underlying design clearly sits in the “long-range, light warhead” category and is significantly smaller and lighter than the longest-range Shahed variants.
CENTCOM publicly revealed the deployment of a LUCAS squadron to the Middle East in late 2025 under a new formation, Task Force Scorpion Strike, placed within Special Operations Command Central. The unit’s mission is to field one-way attack drones at scale for operational use rather than just testing or training, with launch options including catapults, rocket-assisted takeoff and mobile ground or vehicle systems. In December 2025, U.S. Navy personnel carried out the first at-sea test launch of a LUCAS drone from the littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara in the Gulf, demonstrating that the system can be operated from compact maritime platforms as well as land bases, as reported by Army Recognition. CENTCOM officials have spoken of having “an amount that provides us with a significant level of capability,” while indicating a unit cost of roughly 35,000 dollars per drone, far below that of cruise missiles or reusable armed UAVs and consistent with the Pentagon’s push toward “affordable mass.”
During Operation Epic Fury, LUCAS moved from experimentation to combat. According to CENTCOM’s statement on the strikes, the first hours of the operation combined precision munitions launched from air, land and sea with the debut of low-cost one-way attack drones flown by Task Force Scorpion Strike. Open reporting indicates that the LUCAS drones used in this phase were ground-launched and tasked primarily against fixed Iranian military targets, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command nodes, air defense assets and missile and drone launch infrastructure, as part of a broader wave of U.S. and allied strikes. At this stage, CENTCOM has not disclosed how many LUCAS drones were fired, how many reached their objectives or the detailed battle damage results, underlining that only a limited subset of data about the system’s performance in a dense, defended environment has been made public.
Operationally, the appearance of LUCAS over Iran illustrates the role such drones can play alongside higher-end weapons rather than replacing them. Their relatively low cost and expendable character make them suitable for saturating or probing air defenses, striking targets that do not justify multi-million-dollar missiles, and forcing the adversary to expend interceptors and ammunition on each incoming track. At the same time, the LUCAS concept borrows heavily from the very systems it is meant to counter: a delta-wing pusher-propeller airframe, autonomous point-to-point navigation likely based on onboard autopilots and satellite/inertial guidance, and the ability to be launched from dispersed ground sites in large numbers. The United States is effectively adopting a version of the Shahed playbook that Iran and Russia have used extensively, but applying it within a broader architecture of crewed aircraft, cruise missiles and higher-end unmanned systems.
The confirmation of LUCAS’s first combat use during Operation Epic Fury signals a turning point in U.S. strike doctrine in the Middle East. By fielding a Shahed-derived, long-range one-way attack drone at scale and using it in a major operation against Iran, Washington is demonstrating its intention to compete directly in the domain of low-cost, attritable munitions that can be produced and deployed in quantity. Future disclosures on how often LUCAS is employed, in what numbers and in combination with which other weapons will help clarify whether it remains a niche capability or becomes a routine element of U.S. power projection and deterrence in contested airspace.
