Middle East
US task force deploys low-cost, 1-way attack drones in combat for first time in Iran strikes
Stars and Stripes
February 28, 2026
LUCAS drones are positioned on the tarmac at a base in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility on Nov. 23, 2025. The aircraft are fielded by Task Force Scorpion Strike, which was specifically formed to develop and deploy one-way attack drones at scale. (U.S. Central Command)
The major U.S. and Israeli bombardment of Iran on Saturday featured a U.S. Central Command task force’s first ever deployment of low-cost, one-way attack drones in combat, the command said.
They were launched by CENTCOM’s Task Force Scorpion Strike, which was specifically formed to develop and deploy one-way attack drones at scale.
The drones deployed for Operation Epic Fury are modeled after Iran’s Shahed drones, which have wreaked havoc on the battlefield in Ukraine and have been employed by Iran-backed militias throughout the Middle East.
The task force in December successfully completed its first launch of the LUCAS drone at sea. LUCAS is an abbreviation for low-cost unmanned combat attack system. The drones have an extensive range and are designed to operate autonomously.
The command did not specify how many of the one-way drones were fired or what they targeted. They were among munitions fired from “air, land and sea,” the command said.
Iranian state media, citing the Red Crescent, on Saturday evening said at least 201 people had been killed and more than 700 injured. Various members of Iran’s leadership were targeted, and at least 85 people were reported killed when a girls’ school was struck in southern Iran, according to a regional governor. A spokesperson for CENTCOM said the strike on the school was being looked into.
President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in the strikes, but that the heavy and pinpoint bombing “will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary.”
Contributing: Stars and Stripes reporter Shannon Renfroe, the Associated Press.