Iran strike was Pentagon's 1st use of 1-way drones, CENTCOM says

Source: ABC News

February 28, 2026, 4:37 PM


Saturday's attack against Iran was the Pentagon's first use of one-way drones in combat, CENTCOM said, and only about three months since its first notable test in the field -- a rapid turnaround for a weapon system in the United States' arsenal.

The use of one-way drones comes as military planners have been rapidly building up a squadron in the Middle East of Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System, or LUCAS, a one-way attack drone produced by Arizona-based SpektreWorks.

Each unit costs about $35,000 -- much cheaper than a $30 million Reaper drone and subsequent munitions. The drones are brand new, being deployed to the Middle East in December and having their first test flight from a Navy ship that month.

The American drone was reverse-engineered from Iran's Shahed drones that have been used by Iran against Israel and by Russia against Ukraine. The new drones are part of CENTCOM's Task Force Scorpion Strike, which was founded shortly after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed acceleration of the acquisition and deployment of cheap drone technology last summer.

Read more: https://abcnews.com/Politics/iran-strike-pentagons-1st-1-drones-centcom/story?id=130630582