Washington, United States – The US Navy announced the first launch of a unidirectional attack drone from a warship in the Middle East, a move that reflects Washington’s trend of expanding the use of low-cost military technologies in maritime environments and regional operations.
According to Euronews, the US Fifth Naval Command stated that the LUCAS drone, known as the “Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System,” was launched this week from the littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara while operating in the waters of the Arabian Gulf, in a first-of-its-kind test for the US military in the region.
Vice Admiral Kurt Renshaw, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said the successful launch represents “a significant milestone in accelerating the introduction of effective and affordable unmanned aerial vehicles into service,” adding that these new capabilities enhance regional maritime security and raise the level of deterrence.
The LUCAS system is classified as a single-attack drone, capable of loitering over a target area for a period of time before swooping down and detonating itself. The system boasts high operational flexibility, as it can be launched by catapult, from mobile vehicles and ground stations, and can also be launched with rocket assistance or operated from warships.
This development comes as part of the US Department of Defense’s efforts to keep pace with the rapid advancements in drones and robotic systems, within a strategy aimed at producing less expensive weapons to counter the military developments of both Russia and China. The US Secretary of Defense recently announced a plan to invest approximately $1 billion over two years to produce hundreds of thousands of low-cost attack drones.
The LUCAS aircraft, developed by the American company SpektreWorks, is similar in design to the Iranian Shahed-136 aircraft used in modern conflicts, a style characterized by low cost and the possibility of intensive use, which poses additional challenges to air defense systems.
The announcement comes as Iranian-backed groups increasingly use similar attack drones against U.S. forces and regional targets, giving the experiment a practical dimension linked to the reality of threats in the Middle East.
