How the US copied a cheap Iranian kamikaze drone and used it to bomb Iran

US low-cost, unmanned combat attack system (Lucas) drones in November 2025. US Central Command

As Pete Hegseth, the Fox News host turned Donald Trump’s defense secretary, stood on the front lawn of the Pentagon to record a promotional video in July 2025, a drone hovered above him.

Hegseth said that America’s adversaries had “produced millions of cheap drones” and it was time for the US to catch up. The Trump administration, he added, would arm combat units with “a variety of low-cost...