The US military’s new LUCAS one-way attack drones—deployed under CENTCOM’s Task Force Scorpion Strike—are emerging as far more advanced than simple Shahed‑136 clones. Newly released images show two variants: a basic strike model and a more sophisticated version equipped with a gimbaled camera and a miniature beyond‑line‑of‑sight satellite datalink. This upgrade allows operators to dynamically control the drones at long range, hit moving targets, and enable real‑time swarm tactics, according to Joseph Trevithick and Howard Altman of The War Zone. By pairing low‑cost strike drones with a smaller number of networked “hub” drones, LUCAS swarms can coordinate attacks, share targeting data, and overwhelm defenses at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems. The drones’ modular design, advanced networking, and potential for SEAD/DEAD missions position them to “flip the script” on Iran, which lacks the high‑end defensive networks needed to counter such threats. Overall, LUCAS represents a major shift toward scalable, low‑cost, man‑in‑the‑loop drone warfare that leverages US intelligence and coordination advantages. They write:

In a quick follow-up to our breaking post on the Pentagon sending Shahed-136 clones to the Middle East, specifically “to flip the script” on Iran, we are getting new images of what configurations the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) kamikaze drones that will be used by Task Force Scorpion Strike (TFSS) exist in. The adaptability of the basic Shahed-136 platform is a key feature we highlighted in our extensive case for the U.S. pursuing large quantities of these drones, which you can read in full here. Since publishing that piece, top uniformed officers have made it clear that this capability is indeed needed.

In images posted by the Pentagon, we see two variants of LUCAS. One is not of particular note, it seems geared to strike the static targets we have become accustomed to for this type of weapon. The other features two very interesting details. It has what appears to be a gimbaled camera system mounted on its nose and, most importantly, a miniature beyond-line-of-sight satellite datalink mounted on its spine. This is a major development that would allow these weapons to not only be controlled dynamically after launch at great distances, but also to hit moving targets and targets of opportunity. […]

Now, America’s LUCAS drones, cloned from the Shahed-136, will feature a far more advanced beyond-line-of-sight control capability, via satellite datalink, something that is just now popping up in Ukraine as well. […]

It’s also worth putting this into an Iranian context. The U.S. and Israel, primarily, shot down nearly all of Iran’s long-range kamikaze drones launched during the war in June and previous crises post October 7, 2023. But that required large numbers of advanced fighters and SAM systems that all leveraged a deeply networked data sharing and airborne early warning and control. Iran has none of this. They are indeed outright vulnerable to this threat. Hence the whole “flip the script” commentary. […]

But the bottom line here is that the U.S. is not just sending Shahed clones that can blindly hit fixed targets, they are sending networked, man-in-the-loop weapons capable of swarming and executing coordinated tactics on the fly, including chasing down targets of opportunity and relaying vital reconnaissance far beyond the range of line-of-sight radios.

Read more here.

Spektreworks FLM 136 spec sheet: Info-Flyer-FLM136.pdf