Russia’s version of Iran’s fast, cheap Shahed attack drones have been wreaking havoc during the Ukraine conflict, saturating the skies nearly every night and terrorising civilians.
Highly adaptive and hard to intercept, the United States witnessed how the long-range exploding drones profoundly reshaped the Ukraine war. So they got hold of one and reverse-engineered it.
The Pentagon did not attempt to hide that its new Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drone was based on the Iranian Shahed-136 when it was unveiled last year.
The US Air Force had released a request for information seeking to develop “a 1:1 copy” of the so-called kamikaze drone.
US officials even told CNN and defence publication The War Zone that a LUCAS squadron was deployed to the Middle East in December “to flip the script on Iran”.
A drone launches from the flight deck of a war ship at sea.
It appears the US likely used its Shahed replica for the first time in combat during an operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month, according to drone experts.
Now, US President Donald Trump has been threatening to use force against Iran over the regime’s massacre of anti-government protesters.
US-based human rights monitor HRANA has confirmed 5,002 people have been killed, and 9,787 additional deaths are under investigation.
With Mr Trump building up military assets in the region, defence analysts say it is only a matter of time before the US uses Iran’s drone technology against them.
Why the US wanted the Shahed
The high-pitched thrum of the Shahed drone’s engine has become a hallmark of the Ukraine conflict.
The UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) have been widely used by Russia to unleash relentless assaults on Ukrainian cities.
“It doesn’t matter if an individual Shahed hits its target. What matters is the compound effect the terror weapon has on civilians and the stress it places on air defences,” analysts from the US Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote.
Russia is carrying out record mass drone attacks on Ukraine using foam decoys and thermobaric warheads.
Unlike traditional drones that fly on a mission and return home, the drones were designed as ammunition, diving into targets with an explosive warhead.
Originally imported from Iran, Russia now mass produces its own “Geran” version, churning out nearly 3,000 a month, according to Ukrainian intelligence.
With a price range of $US20,000 to $50,000 ($29,700 to $73,000), the drones are exponentially cheaper than the missiles required to shoot them down, which can cost upwards of $US1 million.
The long-range weapons are also particularly difficult to defend against when launched in large volumes.
Hundreds are being launched in a single attack, with European intelligence officials and analysts estimating bombardments could reach more than 2,000 drones.
A Ukrainian officer next to a downed Shahed drone pointing to a thermobaric charge beside it.
Mr Trump spoke about the need for the US to develop a Shahed equivalent at a business roundtable in Qatar early last year.
“I want a lot of drones, and in the case of Iran, they make a good drone, and they make them for $35,000, $40,000,” he said.
“They’re very good, too, and fast and deadly, horrible, actually, when you look at what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine.”
Iran has also deployed the weapons directly in strikes against Israel, including an attack in April 2024 that included about 150.
US low-cost attack drones in action
Also referred to by the manufacturer SpektreWorks as the FLM 136, the US LUCAS drones share many of the specifications of the Shahed 136.
Dr Molloy said the drones also shared the same delta-wing look and long-range one-way mission profile, but the SpektreWorks versions would be built with US standards and components.
In December, the Pentagon announced it had deployed the US military’s first one-way-attack drone squadron to the Middle East.
Soon after, the US Navy recorded a “milestone”, saying the LUCAS drones had been “successfully launched” from a ship at sea for the first time.
Fresh details about the operation to detain Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife on Saturday have been revealed.
Defence analysts and drone experts say it appears the US may have taken the next step, launching its LUCAS drones as part of its recent strikes on Venezuela.
The same distinctive sounds made by Shahed-type drones — nicknamed “flying mopeds” — were heard in various videos that came out of Caracas.
“Certain UAV construction results in specific drone sound signatures while in flight,” Samuel Bendett, an expert on drones and other weapons at the US Center for Naval Analysis, told the ABC.
“It’s highly likely that the sound being recorded and shared on social media belongs to this new US drone.”
The US said the military operation to oust the Venezuelan president involved bombers, drones, aircraft carriers, and amphibious assault ships.
The Pentagon and US Special Operations Command would not provide comment on the use of LUCAS drones in Venezuela.
“Although there is no confirmed information by the US officials, videos and witness evidence from Caracas describe the drones as ‘Shahed-like,'” Dr Molloy said.
“It sounds like propeller-driven loitering munitions. And based on the flight profiles and acoustic signatures, it is a one-way attack loitering munition.”
Dr Molloy said the use of the drones was significant for the US, providing an additional component “that creates new strategies in achieving their missions”.
She suggested that in Venezuela, the weapons could have been used to help deter air defences, forcing missile systems to shoot at the cheap drones rather than advanced US aircraft.
“It seems like they had a potentially positive first combat experience … which means that they are likely to continue using those and delivering those effects within their capabilities in theatre,” Dr Molloy said.
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