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The United States has turned to a new weapon in its confrontation with Iran: a drone inspired by Iranian technology. Unlike the high-tech devices emerging from more than 400 U.S. venture-backed drone startups or Silicon Valley labs, this system was created by the military itself, leveraging reverse-engineered Iranian designs.

Known as the FLM 136, or “Lucas,” the drone has been actively targeting Iranian military positions since the early stages of the conflict, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, drones developed by startups and heavily funded defense systems have seen limited use in these operations.

What Are Lucas Drones?

Defense reports indicate that the Lucas drone was built after engineers studied Iranian drone capabilities and developed a simplified version tailored to U.S. military needs. The system has been described as the “Toyota Corolla of drones.”

Affordability is a key feature of the Lucas. Estimates place each unit’s cost between $10,000 and $55,000, putting it in the same price bracket as Iran’s Shahed drones. The cost is striking when compared with the far pricier conventional U.S. military hardware.

Lucas drones are capable of up to six hours of flight, cover more than 500 miles, and can operate autonomously during missions, reports say. These features have allowed the U.S. to conduct repeated, long-range, low-cost strikes.

However, analysts caution that Lucas drones may face difficulties in sophisticated electronic warfare environments, especially in areas where GPS jamming and advanced countermeasures are common.