The United States has deployed one-way attack drones, commonly known as "suicide drones," in combat for the first time. With Iran also using drones in retaliatory strikes, analysts say drones have become a key weapon in modern warfare following the Ukraine conflict.
The US Department of Defense announced on the 1st (local time) that Central Command had used one-way attack drones modeled after Iran's Shahed drones. This marks the first operational deployment of Task Force Scorpion, the US military's first suicide drone unit established last year.
Task Force Scorpion operates the Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones. The LUCAS drone was reportedly developed through reverse-engineering after disassembling Iran-made Shahed-136 drones. While the US had previously downplayed the military value of Iranian drones used by Russia in the Ukraine war, the Pentagon appears to have concluded that low-cost drones are effective in modern warfare.
Iran also launched Shahed-136 drone attacks on Arab regions hosting US embassies and military bases in retaliation. Iran fired approximately 150 ballistic missiles, over 500 drones, and 2 cruise missiles at the United Arab Emirates, killing 3 and injuring 58. Iranian airstrikes also caused casualties and property damage in Manama, Bahrain; Doha, Qatar; and Kuwait City, Kuwait.
According to the New York Times, the drones were developed by a company linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with an estimated manufacturing cost of approximately $35,000 per unit. Reuters analyzed that "Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted the United States and other nations to pursue strategies of acquiring large quantities of inexpensive weapons."