Iran Says Its Army Shot Down a US LUCAS Attack Drone Over Bandar Abbas
Iran’s army said on Sunday, 25 October 2026, that its air defences shot down a US LUCAS one-way attack drone over the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. The claim came from the army’s public relations office and was carried by the Mehr and Tasnim news agencies. The United States had not commented at the time of publication, and the claim has not been independently verified (Mehr, Tasnim).
- Claim: Iran’s army says its air defences hit and destroyed a US LUCAS drone over Bandar Abbas on Sunday morning, 25 October 2026
- Source: Iranian Army public relations office, carried by Mehr and Tasnim
- Not confirmed: no US comment and no independent verification at the time of publication
- LUCAS: a low-cost US one-way attack drone built by SpektreWorks and modelled on Iran’s Shahed
- The US says it first used LUCAS in combat against Iran earlier this year
What Iran says
According to the army statement, the drone was “hit and destroyed” in the sky over Bandar Abbas on Sunday morning by army air-defence systems working under Iran’s integrated air defence network. The statement, as reported, did not say when exactly the drone was engaged, which weapon was used or what the drone was doing. Reuters reported the claim citing Tasnim (Reuters via Arab News).
Mehr also recalled that on 20 October the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had shot down a US MQ-9 over the Strait of Hormuz and described it as the 54th such drone it had downed. That figure is the IRGC’s own and has not been confirmed by the US (Mehr).
What is LUCAS?
LUCAS stands for Low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System. It is a one-way attack drone, essentially a flying munition, designed by SpektreWorks of Phoenix, Arizona. US Central Command (CENTCOM) set up Task Force Scorpion Strike on 3 December 2025 as its first squadron dedicated to one-way attack drones, equipped with LUCAS (CENTCOM, Defense News).
The drone is modelled on Iran’s own Shahed series, a point CENTCOM itself made. It has a wingspan of about 8 ft (2.4 m) and can be launched by catapult, with rocket-assisted take-off or from mobile ground and vehicle launchers (Defense News, Airforce Technology). Reuters has reported a cost of around USD 35,000 per drone; the US has not published an official unit price.
Background
CENTCOM said in early March 2026 that Task Force Scorpion Strike was using LUCAS in combat “for the first time in history” during Operation Epic Fury, the US campaign against Iran (Airforce Technology). Bandar Abbas sits on the Strait of Hormuz, where US and Iranian forces remain in close contact while the US maintains a blockade of Iranian ports. For the wider picture, see our US-Israel-Iran war tracker, our guide to US military drones and our profile of Iran’s armed forces.
Sources: Iranian Army statement via Mehr News Agency and Tasnim (25 October 2026); Reuters via Arab News; US Central Command (3 December 2025); Defense News; Airforce Technology. This article will be updated if the US responds.
