"The first hours of the operation included precision munitions launched from air, land, and sea. Additionally, CENTCOM's Task Force Scorpion Strike employed low-cost one-way attack drones for the first time in combat."
"These 'have an extensive range and are designed to operate autonomously. They can be launched with different mechanisms to include catapults, rocket-assisted takeoff, and mobile ground and vehicle systems,' CENTCOM said at the time."
"According to CNN, the LUCAS drones were developed after technicians reverse-engineered a Shahed 136 drone from Iran, which the US captured a few years ago. It is reported that each LUCAS drone costs approximately $35,000, making it significantly cheaper than other US long-range weapons such as Tomahawk cruise missiles, which cost about $1.3 million apiece."
Operation Epic Fury commenced on February 28 with US forces striking Iranian targets using precision munitions from air, land, and sea platforms. Task Force Scorpion Strike, the military's first one-way-attack drone squadron based in the Middle East, deployed low-cost unmanned combat attack systems in combat for the first time. The LUCAS drones were developed by reverse-engineering a captured Iranian Shahed 136 drone and cost approximately $35,000 each. These autonomous drones feature extensive range capabilities and can be launched via catapults, rocket-assisted takeoff, or mobile ground and vehicle systems. The significantly lower cost compared to traditional cruise missiles made this approach economically advantageous for military operations.
Read at Theregister
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]