Latest news with #Iranian-designed
Forbes
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Forbes
Can U.S.-Made Shahed Clones Compete In Drone Wars?
New footage shows mass production of Shahed drones at a Russian facility in Alabuga, Tartarstan Russian state media via Twitter On July 20th,Russian state television showed new footage from the giant drone factory which makes Iranian-designed Shahed-136s, revealing the sheer scale of production. The facility in Alabuga a thousand miles East of Moscow has ramped up production roughly tenfold in the last year, enough for more than 700 attack drones to be launched in one night. That could rise to 2,000 Shaheds a night by the end of the year, according to Major General Christian Freuding of Germany's Situation Center for Ukraine. Now plans are afoot for the U.S. to launch drone barrages of its own, with the Pentagon unveiling a new type of weapon apparently in response to a presidential request. But is the Pentagon ready to compete with Russia in launching mass drone attacks? Tactical "Tomahawk" Block IV cruise missile,, the U.S. choice for precision long range attack. US NAVY/AFP via Getty Images Traditionally the U.S. military has favored sophisticated, highly capable weapons like the Tomahawk cruise missile. This is a 20-foot-long weapon flying under 300 feet to avoid radar at around 500 mph and, delivering a 1,000-pound warhead to targets around 1,000 miles away. It has led to attack in many recent operations, including strikes on the Houthis in Yemen earlier this year. In the latest U.S. Navy budget, a batch of 40 Tomahawks cost $1.9 million each. That is not a lot of missiles in the arsenal, especially considering that many may not reach their targets. On 12th July, Russian launched 26 Kh-101 cruise missiles at Ukraine, along with a number of other missiles and hundreds of drones. 25 of those 26 missiles were shot down by air defenses. The Shahed has a similar range and accuracy to the Tomahawk, but flies at a quarter of the speed and carries a tenth as much explosive. A high proportion of the drones were shot down in July 12th too – over 90% -- but as these cost around $35k each they look like a much more cost-effective way of hitting a target. Especially if a 1,00-pound warhead is not needed. President Trump remarked on the need for a U.S. equivalent of the Shahed at a Business Roundtable in Qatar in May, saying: The new LUCAS attack drone U.S. DoD 'We're coming up with a new system of drones because drones are really … drones really seem to be taking over that war… I asked one of the companies, I said, I want a lot of drones and in the case of Iran, they make a good drone and they make them for $35,000, $40,000. So I said to this company, I want to see. They came in two weeks later with a drone that cost $41 million. I said, that's not what I'm talking about, $41 million. I'm talking about something for $35,000, $40,000, where you send thousands of them up and that's a great way -- and they're very good too and fast and deadly, horrible, actually, when you look at what's happening with Russia and Ukraine .' (My emphasis) Part of this speech was quoted on a signboard in front of the new Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) displayed in the Pentagon courtyard at an event attended by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth last week. LUCAS looks very much like a Shahed clone, and is billed as ' designed to rival Iran's widely used Shahed-136 loitering munition, in a push to expand affordable airpower options for modern battlefields .' But the new drone may not be all that it seems. A Weapon, Or Just A Target? LUCAS is made by Arizona contractor SpektreWorks and LUCAS looks very much like a version of their FLM-136, a copy of the Shahed-136 made for 'threat emulation'. In other words it was designed as an aerial target for U.S. forces to get realistic practice shooting down Shaheds. Norma Jean Dougherty, aka Marilyn Monroe, assembling target drones in 1945 U.S. Army The U.S has been using target drones for decades. In WWII an Army photographer captured one Norma Jean Dougherty (later to become famous as Marilyn Monroe) on the assembly line for RadioPlane OQ-3 target drones. Generations of target drones followed, including the Teledyne Ryan Firebee, successfully converted into a reconnaissance drone in the Vietnam War. It is obvious why the military would want a drone target representing a Shahed. The U.S. Navy came under attack from a variety of similar drones launched by the Houthis in the Red Sea recently and needs to practice the best ways to tackle them. However the requirement for a target drone is not the same as for an attack drone. The specifications of the FLM-136 show that while it is an excellent substitute for shooting practice, it does not have quite the performance the real thing. U.S. LUCAS attack drone on display week U.S. DoD The FLM-136 has the same size and speed as the Shahed-136 but weighs about half as much as and carries half the payload. Its range of around 500 miles is less than half that of the Shahed. What we do not know is the unit cost of the FLM-136, which is a key metric. It is possible that it really has been procured for the desired '$35,000, $40,000' but this would be remarkably low by Pentagon standards. Previous small drones have been known to cost more than their weight in gold, and the BQM-167 Skeeter, the Air Force's reusable jet-powered drone, costs $1.7 million each. Presumably the LUCAS is at least less than '$41 million,' or a Tomahawk cruise missile. But without seeing numbers we cannot know for sure. Return To The Age Of The Jet Bomb A series of images showing the trajectory of a JB-2 buzz bomb during take off in the desert, USA, ... More circa 1945-1950. (Photo by Frederic Lewis/) Getty Images Back in WWII, the U.S. was big on the idea of reverse-engineering enemy weapons and producing them at scale. The Republic-Ford JB-2 'Loon' was a direct copy of the German V-1 'Doodlebug' which carried out the same roles as the Shahed does now. 'JB' was short for 'Jet Bomb'. V-1s had caused tremendous damage in Europe. The plan was to use JB-2s to bombard Japan into submission with thousands of JB-2s with no risk of losing aircraft, launching them from the decks of aircraft carriers from where they could hit any part of Japanese territory. The military initially ordered 1,000 JB-2, with the same number to be made each month. The project was canceled when Japan surrendered while the first weapons were still on their way to the Pacific. Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril, has said that he wants to see a return to the mass-production approach of WWII and 'bring mass to the fight.' This means vast numbers of Anduril's low-cost Barracuda cruise missile/drones and other weapons rather than a handful of Tomahawks. But Anduril products were not apparent at the Pentagon event. Whether the Pentagon is serious about this approach, or whether they just wanted to show the Secretary of Defence that the U.S. could make something that looks like the Shaheds the President asked for, is another matter. Meanwhile Ukraine is producing its own low-cost, long-range attack drones and plans to hit Rusia with 30,000 this year. These include a mix of sophisticated types and ultra-low-cost designs with bodies fashioned from plastic pipe. The drone arms race is well under way, and the U.S. is starting from behind.
AU Financial Review
a day ago
- Politics
- AU Financial Review
Russia's new swarm drone tactics are winning the war
London | Kyiv | Russia's 'swarm' tactics against Ukraine are increasingly cutting through Ukraine's defences, with drones striking targets at three times the typical rate in recent months, according to official data. Mass attacks of Shaheds, an Iranian-designed drone now manufactured in Russia, appear to be overwhelming Ukraine's beleaguered air defences, with the drone hit rate reaching its highest levels since Moscow's invasion. Financial Times
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Video Shows Inside Russia's Iranian Drone Factory
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Russian state media has aired footage from a major drone production facility in Yelabuga, Tatarstan, where Moscow is domestically manufacturing Iranian-designed Shahed drones under the name Geran-2. The video, released by the Ministry of Defense's Zvezda TV channel, offers a detailed view of one of Russia's key drone assembly centers that is helping fuel the country's ongoing war against Ukraine. Newsweek has reached out to the State Department as well as the foreign ministries of Russia, Ukraine and Iran for comment. Why It Matters Russia's shift from importing Iranian drones to mass-producing has marked an escalation in its war strategy. The Geran-2, modeled on Iran's Shahed-136, is cheap, easy to assemble, and effective at swarming Ukrainian defenses, especially at night. As Russia ramps up output, Ukraine's costly Western air defense systems face mounting pressure. Meanwhile, Iran's recent use of similar drones against Israel underscores their broader relevance. Even when intercepted, Shaheds can overwhelm advanced defense networks, reinforcing the logic behind mass deployment. Screen grab from Zvezda TV shows workers assembling combat drones at various stages of production inside a factory in Tatarstan, Russia, on July 20, 2025. Screen grab from Zvezda TV shows workers assembling combat drones at various stages of production inside a factory in Tatarstan, Russia, on July 20, 2025. Zvezda TV What to Know Located near Kazan, the Yelabuga facility has emerged as the centerpiece of Russia's fast-growing drone program. New footage aired on state media shows an expansive assembly line producing thousands of Geran-2 drones each month—long-range, explosive-laden unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) based on Iran's Shahed design. These drones have become a core component of Russia's strategy to pressure Ukraine with relentless, low-cost aerial attacks. According to Zvezda TV, President Vladimir Putin has endorsed scaling the Yelabuga model nationwide to increase domestic output and reduce reliance on direct imports from Iran. Drone Usage This push aligns with recent trends in Russia's drone usage. According to a new assessment from the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, Russia's per-night use of Shahed-type drones rose by 31 percent in both June and July. If the current pace continues, it is estimated that Russia could potentially launch up to 2,000 drones in a single night by November 2025; a dramatic increase from the fall of 2024, when roughly 2,000 drones were deployed across an entire month. Russia and Iran Partnership The expansion of drone warfare has been underpinned by closer coordination between Moscow and Tehran. In January, Presidents Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian signed a 20-year "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" treaty in Moscow. The agreement spans 47 articles covering defense, trade, energy, and technology. While it stops short of establishing a formal mutual defense pact, the treaty institutionalizes expanded military-technical cooperation, intelligence sharing, joint exercises, and weapons development. Visitors look at a damaged Iranian-made drone, Shahed, during the International Conference on Expanding Sanctions Against Russia in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 27, 2025. Visitors look at a damaged Iranian-made drone, Shahed, during the International Conference on Expanding Sanctions Against Russia in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 27, 2025. Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo Shahed Drones in Iran-Israel Conflict Iran has also employed Shahed drones in its own military operations. During its recent conflict with Israel, Tehran launched more than 100 Shahed-type UAVs in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets. Although the majority were intercepted before entering Israeli airspace, the attack underscored Iran's growing reliance on drone salvos as a retaliatory tactic and illustrated how its UAV doctrine is increasingly mirrored by Russia's own battlefield strategy. What People Are Saying Institute for the Study of War (ISW) "Russia may be able to launch up to 2,000 drones in one night by November 2025, should this current growth trend in drone usage continue." Israeli military spokesperson: "Most of the drones launched by Iran were intercepted before entering Israeli airspace, demonstrating the effectiveness of our air defense systems." What Happens Next As Russia scales up domestic drone production and Iran continues to showcase the Shahed's battlefield impact, both countries are jointly shaping a new model of low-cost, high-volume aerial warfare that challenges traditional air defenses.
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Business Insider
A new American drone that showed up at the Pentagon looks a lot like the Shaheds Russia uses to bomb Ukraine
An American version of the Iranian-designed Shahed one-way attack drones that Russia uses in its daily attacks on Ukrainian cities showed up at the Pentagon this week. Photos show the drone, identified in promotional materials as a Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, or LUCAS, and made by American engineering firm SpektreWorks, on display among a variety of other drone prototypes in the courtyard. The weapon's appearance comes as the US military looks to dramatically increase the production of cheap drones using off-the-shelf components to keep pace with rapid evolutions in warfare, which is becoming increasingly robotic and autonomous. A fact sheet visible in the photos from the Pentagon said that the new Shahed-style drone could support the military's Indo-Pacific Command by "providing a viable threat emulator" and offering "a low operational and maintenance cost compared to traditional munitions systems or aircraft." It said that "this makes the FLM 131 attractive to Joint Forces looking for one-way attack systems that enhance capabilities without increasing costs." The Spektreworks LUCAS design was one out of 18 American-made drone prototypes on display at the Pentagon on Wednesday. The department said that the drones were developed in a period of about 18 months, rather than over years. There is limited information about the FLM 131, but it looks similar to the FLM 136, a product listed in SpektreWorks' catalogue. The FLM 136 is nearly 10 feet in length and has a wingspan of just over 8 feet. It can cruise at 55 knots and sprint at 100 knots, while carrying a maximum payload of 40 pounds. Spektreworks says that the FLM 136 is "reverse-engineered for authentic threat emulation." The FLM models strongly resemble the delta-shaped body of the Iranian-designed Shahed, with the straight wingtips and the rounded head. The 131/136 variant designation is also notably used for the Iranian drone. The design presented at the Pentagon is modular, with the ability to swap out parts for different missions: attack, reconnaissance, and communication. The Iranian-designed Shahed is known as a one-way attack drone, or loitering munition, because it can loiter in the air for a period of time before diving down at its target and detonating on impact. Russia began using the Iranian-supplied Shaheds against Ukraine in 2022, but it has since started manufacturing them locally. While these weapons are slower than cruise or ballistic missiles, they are much cheaper, allowing Moscow to launch them in large numbers. Some recent attacks have consisted of hundreds of drones alongside missiles, complicating the strike package and creating challenges for air defenders. Ukrainian troops and first responders have said that Russia has introduced new tactics with its Shaheds, also known by their Russian designation Geran-2, and have even modified the drones to make them deadlier, such as swapping out their standard explosive payloads for thermobaric warheads. The proliferation of cheap, one-way attack drones extends beyond Ukraine and has been a problem in the Middle East as well. An attack in Jordan last year, for instance, killed three US service members and injured dozens more. These kinds of weapons have also targeted Israel and ships operating off the coast of Yemen. Recognizing the increasing threat that drones represent in modern warfare, the Trump administration has made boosting the production of these weapons to keep up with adversaries a priority. In mid-May, President Donald Trump said the US is coming up with a "new system of drones" and alluded to the Shahed, expressing interest in Iranian designs. "In the case of Iran, they make a good drone. And they make them for $35,000, $40,000," Trump said of Tehran's drone tech during a roundtable with business leaders in Qatar. "And they're very good too, and fast and deadly. Horrible, actually, when you look at what's happening with Russia and Ukraine. The drone is killing tremendous numbers of people." In early June, Trump signed an executive order to speed up US drone production, and last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in a memorandum that he is rescinding what was described as "restrictive policies" that stood in the way of production. "Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, accounting for most of this year's casualties in Ukraine," Hegseth said in the memo. "Our adversaries collectively produce millions of cheap drones each year," the defense secretary said. "While global military drone production skyrocketed over the last three years, the previous administration deployed red tape. US units are not outfitted with the lethal small drones the modern battlefield requires." The US military can see that it needs drones for future fights. Drones, for instance, are a key part of the Army's transformation initiative. The Marines have formed an attack drone team to disseminate war lessons from Ukraine to the force. The Air Force is looking at collaborative combat aircraft to fly along its most advanced fighters. And the Navy is exploring using uncrewed vessels to augment the fleet while also training, like the other services, to counter emerging threats.
Economic Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Did US just cloned Iranian Shahed? All about LUCAS, America's 'cheap and deadly' kamikaze drone
AP Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Prototyping and Experimentation Alexander Lovett, left, shows a drone to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, right, at a display of multi-domain autonomous systems in the Pentagon courtyard, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) The United States has introduced a new low-cost combat drone aimed squarely at countering the growing threat of Iranian-designed Shahed-type drones used extensively by Russia in its ongoing war against Ukraine. Unveiled on July 16, 2025, at the Pentagon, the drone—LUCAS, or Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System—has been developed by Arizona-based defense contractor SpektreWorks. It is designed to provide a scalable and affordable option for tactical drone warfare, much like the Shaheds that have allowed Moscow to wage relentless air campaigns since late 2022. LUCAS reportedly features a modular, open architecture that supports a range of mission types including strike, reconnaissance, and communications support. Its design allows for quick payload swaps and multiple launch options, such as rocket-assisted takeoff (RATO) or deployment from military vehicles. — clashreport (@clashreport) It can function either as a target drone or a combat UAV, and is built to be operated by non-specialized personnel, giving it a logistical advantage in fast-moving conflict zones. The drone supports autonomous collaborative missions and is compatible with the Multi-Domain Unmanned System Communication (MUSIC) network. This allows it to act as a communication relay, enhancing secure interoperability between US forces and allies in contested environments. According to Defence Security Asia, the drones weighing under 600 kg and are capable of operating at medium altitudes and extended ranges. Reportedly, it's price may fall to about USD 100,000, making it an economically viable platform to be fielded en masse. Interestingly, many on social media platform X said that the LUCAS drone looks identical to the Iranian drone. "Designed by a US defense startup, it's virtually identical to Iran's 'Shahed 136' and Russia's 'Geran-2' UAVs," said in a post. The unveiling comes amid Russia's intensifying use of Shahed-type drones to bombard Ukrainian infrastructure and military targets. In response, Ukraine has stepped up its efforts to produce and deploy interceptor drones, with President Volodymyr Zelensky's office confirming on June 21 that the country is rapidly expanding production of its own UAV defense to internal Ukrainian estimates seen by Reuters, drones accounted for 69% of strikes on Russian troops and 75% of strikes on vehicles and equipment in planned production this year of 30,000 long-range UAVs, designed to attack targets deep inside Russia such as arms depots and energy facilities.
