Pentagon Taps Shield AI for $35,000 LUCAS Drones as Iran War Drives Cheaper Swarm Weapons
Updated
Updated · CNBC · May 19
Pentagon Taps Shield AI for $35,000 LUCAS Drones as Iran War Drives Cheaper Swarm Weapons
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · May 19
The Pentagon said Tuesday it will integrate Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomy software into LUCAS uncrewed attack drones, expanding a low-cost system the military wants to buy in larger volumes.
The push is aimed at countering soaring materials costs and the battlefield impact of Iran’s cheap Shahed-style drones, which have been destroying far more expensive military assets.
Shield said Hivemind lets swarms of LUCAS drones coordinate, adapt and make decisions without human intervention; co-founder Brandon Tseng said the system should be fully functional within two months before military testing.
SpektreWorks’ LUCAS costs about $35,000 per drone and is one of the few newer defense-tech systems already seeing meaningful use, after what the report described as a successful run in Iran.
The deal underscores Washington’s broader shift toward scalable autonomous weapons under Trump’s military reindustrialization push, fueling investor enthusiasm for firms such as Shield AI, recently valued at nearly $12.7 billion.
As AI drones replace legacy jets, how will the U.S. counter advanced electronic warfare?
Can the U.S. war with Iran succeed without undermining its strategic pivot to compete with China?
How will autonomous drone swarms operate under combat rules without direct human control?
LUCAS Drones Redefine Warfare: Inside the Pentagon’s $70 Billion Push for Affordable Mass and Autonomous Combat
Overview
The recent deployment of the LUCAS drone system marks a major shift in modern warfare, as the U.S. military moves toward using affordable, versatile drones at scale. Under a new directive, Task Force Scorpion Strike was formed to actively use these one-way attack drones, which are much cheaper than traditional missiles and can be launched from land or sea. This push for 'affordable mass' is supported by a distributed production strategy, inspired by World War II, allowing multiple producers to quickly build large numbers of drones. The LUCAS system’s adaptability and low cost are transforming both military operations and the defense industry.