The United States has carried out strikes on Iran in coordination with Israel, deploying kamikaze drones for the first time and using a new, low-cost aircraft design modelled on Iran’s Shahed-136 - the loitering munition widely associated in Europe with Russian attacks on Ukraine.
The operation, named “Epic Fury” by the US Department of Defense, took place on Saturday 28 February. The strikes were intended, among other objectives, to target Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, along with other senior figures from the ruling establishment of the past 36 years.
Operation ‘Epic Fury’: first combat use of US kamikaze drones
During the 28 February attacks, the US launched kamikaze drones alongside other long-range weapons. The drone employed was LUCAS, short for Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System, which US forces say draws heavily on the Shahed-136 concept - a platform that has become a familiar feature of the war in Ukraine.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted the first official tests of LUCAS in December 2025, around three months before the strikes.
LUCAS: a low-cost loitering munition built by Arizona-based SpektreWorks
LUCAS is produced by SpektreWorks, an Arizona company that manufactures the drones locally in the United States. While the airframe resembles the Iranian Shahed-136, the programme also leverages similar technological approaches, helping the US bring the system into operational service quickly.
According to CENTCOM, the drones are autonomous and require no human intervention for piloting. Launch options include catapults and rocket-assisted take-off systems.
Tomahawk cruise missiles also used in the strikes
The drone launches were not the only component of the US strike package assembled over the past two months in the Middle East on the orders of President Donald Trump.
At dawn on 28 February, footage showed dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles flying over Iraq towards Iran. With a range of 1,600 kilometres, the Tomahawks were also central to the killing of Ali Khamenei at his residence, which was reported to have been completely destroyed with no collateral damage, attributed to metre-level accuracy.
The Tomahawk is produced by RTX, through its Raytheon unit based in Massachusetts.
Iranian retaliation: hundreds of Shahed-136 drones launched at US allies
Later on 28 February, Tehran responded by sending several hundred Shahed-136 drones towards multiple US-allied locations, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
By a tally reported on the morning of Sunday 1 March, 11 territories had been targeted, including Cyprus in Europe. Far beyond Israel, the UAE reported more than 270 kamikaze drones, with some getting through air-defence systems. One drone crashed into a residential tower, images of which circulated worldwide.
The strike marked a stark moment for the region: Dubai had not been directly hit by war in 80 years, according to the account.
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