Cheap drones can also paralyze enemy ships. The US Army is studying "Lucas" and putting it into anti-ship warfare

The U.S. Army is studying the use of the "Lucas" low-cost drone in anti-ship warfare. (Taken from the U.S. Army website)

[Reporter Tu Jumin/Comprehensive Report] The U.S. military is plotting countermeasures in response to the increase in China’s naval strength. Foreign military news websites reported that the U.S. Army is studying the use of LUCAS long-range one-way attack drones to launch attacks against enemy ship radars, communications and fire control equipment. The purpose is not to sink warships, but to disable them in combat and create breakthrough opportunities for U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups and bombers.

Foreign military news websites "The War Zone" and "Army Recognition" reported that Major General Bernard Harrington, commander of the U.S. Army's 7th Infantry Division and Pacific Multi-Domain Commander, said during the annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) that the U.S. military is studying the use of unmanned boats, one-way attack drones and other long-range weapons through combat simulations to coordinately attack enemy ships.

According to reports, this concept is different from the traditional anti-ship warfare that pursues sinking enemy ships. Instead, it adopts a "mission kill" tactic. Even if the attacked warship does not sink, as long as the radar, fire control system or communication equipment is damaged, it may not be able to detect incoming targets, launch weapons or coordinate air defense operations, and temporarily lose its combat capability.

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The report mentioned that Chinese ships can combine with land-based missiles, military aircraft and air defense systems to form an "anti-access/area denial" network. If the US military can use low-cost drones to disable important sensors on some ships, it may create gaps in the overall defense, allowing other high-power weapons to take advantage of the situation.

The "Lucas" drone was developed by the American company SpektreWorks. Its appearance is similar to the Iranian "Witness-136" suicide drone. It is designed with a delta wing, piston engine and tail propeller. It is estimated to have a range of about 820 kilometers and a payload of about 18 kilograms. The unit price is only US$35,000 (1.136 million yuan), which is quite low.

The U.S. military began deploying "Lucas" drones in the Middle East at the end of last year. It was first put into actual combat when it launched "Operation Epic Fury" against Iran at the end of February this year. It is currently improving its multi-aircraft coordination capabilities. However, considering the heavy-layer air defense and electric warfare capabilities of modern warships, whether the "Lucas" drone can break through defenses and accurately paralyze key equipment remains to be verified.