The US Deploys Mediterranean Drone Squadron Modeled on “Shaheds”

The United States has deployed a squadron of LUCAS strike drones in the Mediterranean Sea, fully designed after Iran’s Shahed-136. According to reports, the US Central Command used reverse engineering, while production was organized by the Arizona-based company SpektreWorks. These drones are intended for one-way strikes, aerial reconnaissance, and attacks on maritime targets.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s initiative, known as “Drone Dominance,” accelerated the creation of the new TFSS unit, tasked with implementing affordable and mass-produced unmanned systems. Each LUCAS is priced at around 35,000 dollars, making it hundreds of times cheaper than the American MQ-9 Reaper.

The deployment of the squadron in the region is seen as a demonstrative step: the effectiveness of Iranian drones in the Middle East has forced Washington to urgently create its own counterparts. It is noted that the US aims to minimize the gap and ensure presence in critical waters, increasing pressure on regional states.

Analysts view the development of prototypes based on Iranian technologies as acknowledgment that mass-produced and affordable drones are becoming a defining factor in modern conflicts, and that technological superiority is no longer an unquestioned asset for the United States.