Iranian Drone Clone Now A US Central Command Weapon

2025-12-06 03:07:42

(MENAFN- Asia Times) The US Central Command, a vital player in Middle East security, is now flying a clone of an Iranian drone. The US drone is a copy of the Shaheed 136, the same drone the Russians used for their home-built Gerans (Geran 1 and Geran 2) that have been heavily used in Ukraine.

The Shaheed 136 is a one-way loitering munition attack drone. It uses a piston engine driving a pusher propeller, which gives it a characteristic, loud“moped” or“lawnmower” sound.

The US version is manufactured by SpektreWorks and known as the FLM 136. According to the company, it was cloned from a copy of the Shaheed drone that either came from the Middle East or from Ukraine. It can fly for six hours, powered by a 215cc carbureted internal-combustion engine.

The FLM 136 in flight

The Shaheed costs between US$20,000 to $50,000 per unit. The US version, dubbed LUCAS (Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System) program, may be priced at $35,000 per unit. It is more difficult to put a price tag on the Russian Geran, but it is probably in the same range.

The price may not include a rocket booster on launch or the non-recurring R&D investment to make a US copy. Like the Shaheed and the Geran, the US model uses GPS for guidance. It is known that the Russians have made major changes in the GPS guidance package, featuring sophisticated anti-jam antennas, and have added artificial intelligence capabilities to its Geran 2 model. The latest Russian models also have been optimized for swarming operations.

Geran 2

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