This milestone was punctuated on December 16th, when the U.S. Navy successfully launched a Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) from the flight deck of the USS Santa Barbara in the Arabian Gulf. Built to address a glaring strategic gap, LUCAS is a loitering munition reverse-engineered from Iran’s Shahed-136. This rapid timeline reflects an urgent need to counter adversaries who use low-cost production to impose asymmetric pressure on U.S. forces. Scaling Production for Drone DominanceThe success of LUCAS ultimately depends on the Pentagon’s ability to scale production to unprecedented levels. This is a foundational piece of the Pentagon’s broader Drone Dominance program, which aims to acquire 300,000 low-cost drones beginning in early 2026.

Source: CNN December 22, 2025 16:50 UTC