Defense UAS

A New Paradigm in Defense Procurement: Speed & Cost

The Department of Defense is executing a significant departure from its traditional, multi-year weapons development cycles, signaling an attempt at a foundational shift in procurement strategy. In an era of rapidly evolving threats, the long-standing model of developing exquisite, high-cost platforms over many years is being challenged by a new imperative: the need to prototype, produce, and field unmanned systems at a pace and scale relevant to modern conflict.

This strategic pivot prioritizes speed, volume, and affordability to generate “attritable mass” which has been defined as a large number of effective, expendable assets that can be deployed without the catastrophic strategic or financial loss associated with a single high-value system. US adversaries utilizing drones based around the Shahed-136 have demonstrated their effectiveness in modern conflict.

This fundamental change is most evident in the dramatic compression of development timelines. The Pentagon has demonstrated the ability to take new drone concepts from initial drawings to functional prototypes in just 18 months, a stark contrast to the previous five-to-six-year standard. According to Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael, this acceleration is “an extraordinary achievement,” underscoring the urgency and success of this new approach.

By rapidly iterating and fielding capabilities, the Department hopes it can adapt to emerging battlefield requirements far more dynamically than before.

At the core of this new philosophy is a cost-centric acquisition model that inverts the traditional approach to capability development. Instead of defining a set of performance requirements and then determining the resulting cost, this model establishes a fixed price point from the outset. This discipline forces a focus on efficiency, innovative manufacturing, and essential capabilities over “gold-plated” solutions.

“Unlike legacy approaches to prototyping and capability development, we set the price we were willing to pay for each system from the start. Cost became the non-negotiable component, and through partnership with industry, we determined what capability we could get for that fixed price.”

— Dan Ermer, director for rapid prototyping and experimentation in the office of the assistant secretary of defense for mission capabilities

This approach fundamentally redefines value, moving from maximum performance at any price to sufficient performance at a sustainable, scalable cost. The Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) program serves as a prime example of this new strategy in action.

Case Study: The Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS)

The LUCAS program is a leading exemplar of the Pentagon’s low-cost, high-volume procurement strategy. Sponsored by the Marine Corps, this one-way attack aircraft is designed from the ground up to be an affordable, mass-producible, and expendable asset. Its development and production are guided by a clear set of principles that break from legacy defense contracting norms.

The core attributes of the LUCAS platform emphasize affordability, adaptability, and manufacturability:

• Manufacturer: The system was developed by SpektreWorks, an Arizona-based unmanned systems engineering company, highlighting the Pentagon’s increasing collaboration with agile, non-traditional defense partners.
• Cost: With a unit cost ranging from $10,000 to $55,000 depending on the variant, LUCAS is firmly in the “attritable” category, allowing for deployment in high-risk environments where the loss of an asset is operationally acceptable.
• Design Philosophy: The system is engineered to be only “as technologically advanced as they need to be to survive,” avoiding unnecessary complexity and cost. This is achieved through the use of low-cost composite materials and additive manufacturing techniques.
• Modularity: LUCAS is a reconfigurable platform capable of performing a host of tasks, from airborne reconnaissance to maritime strike, providing commanders with operational flexibility.

The strategic production model for LUCAS is intentionally disruptive. Harkening back to the “Liberty Ship production model” of World War II, the system is not intended to be built by a single prime contractor. Instead, both the airframe and its future warhead are designed for mass production by multiple manufacturers simultaneously. This approach aims to create a resilient and scalable industrial base capable of surging production rapidly in a crisis.

“There is a price point that we want to produce a lot of these in a rapid fashion. It’s not a single manufacturer: it’s designed to go to multiple manufacturers to be built in mass quantities.”

— Col. Nicholas Law, Director of Experimentation in the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research & Engineering

This philosophy ensures that the system’s design is optimized for widespread manufacturing, moving the focus from proprietary technology to accessible, scalable production. The successful development of this system has been followed by its rapid transition into field deployment to combatant commands as seen with Task Force Scorpion Strike under US Central Command which had publicly released a task force for rapid innovation in September of 2025.

Operationalization: Task Force Scorpion Strike and Strategic Fielding

The critical final step in any new technology initiative is the successful transition from a development prototype to an operationally fielded capability. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has taken a leading role in this effort, establishing Task Force Scorpion Strike (TFSS) to accelerate the delivery of these new systems to warfighters in the field.

The mission of TFSS is to bridge the gap between innovation and implementation. Its recent actions demonstrate a clear commitment to this mandate:

• Mandate: The task force was formed to accelerate the acquisition and fielding of affordable drone technology, directly responding to a directive to deliver effective, low-cost capabilities quickly.
• Key Achievement: In a remarkably short period, TFSS has already formed the U.S. military’s first one-way-attack drone squadron.
• Platform: This pioneering squadron is composed of LUCAS drones and is currently based in the Middle East, placing the capability at the forward edge of a critical operational theater.
• Operational Capabilities: The deployed LUCAS drones feature an extensive range and are designed for autonomous operation. They are supported by versatile launch mechanisms, including catapults, rocket-assisted takeoff, and mobile ground and vehicle systems, ensuring adaptability to diverse mission profiles.

The stated purpose of this rapid fielding is not merely tactical but strategic. By visibly and quickly equipping forces with novel capabilities, the U.S. aims to alter the calculations of potential adversaries. Programs that replicate the Shahed-136 however may be misaligned with global problems that the US faces, presenting a limited niche capability that should not be assumed to replicate the success this type of drone has had with US adversaries. Systems that emulate the Shahed-136 do provide commanders more options though, as the current CENTCOM commander state:

“This new task force sets the conditions for using innovation as a deterrent. Equipping our skilled warfighters faster with cutting-edge drone capabilities showcases U.S. military innovation and strength, which deters bad actors.”

— Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander

The successful operationalization of LUCAS via Task Force Scorpion Strike validates the entire concept-to-fielding pipeline and carries significant implications for the wider defense industrial base. The United States is of course able to produce systems like the Shahed-136, but doing so misses the point of why this system has risen to prominence on modern battlefields.

These types of one-way attack drones, what UDS Aviation considers to be “assault drones” are highly effective not due to their advanced technology, but alignment of strategy, industry, and geography. Fielding these systems provides another option for US commanders, though they will not confer the advantages offered to adversaries like Russia, Iran, and China.

Strategic Implications for Defense Industry Stakeholders

The rapid development and deployment of the LUCAS drone, driven by a new procurement philosophy, signals an awareness of structural issues in the defense industry and attempts to shift to a different structure. Stakeholders must recognize and adapt to these changes to remain relevant in an evolving defense landscape. The key transformations are clear and consequential.

1. Shift to Attritable Systems The emphasis on low-cost, expendable systems like LUCAS marks a departure from the decades-long focus on expensive, highly survivable platforms. This changes the calculus of modern warfare, where the ability to generate mass and saturate defenses with numerous attritable assets can be more strategically valuable than relying on a few high-value, penetrating systems. Industry partners must pivot their design and engineering focus toward affordability and scalability, not just survivability and performance.
2. Cost as a Design Constraint The new procurement model, where cost is a fixed and non-negotiable requirement, has major implications for industry. It prioritizes agile manufacturing, efficient design, and the use of non-traditional materials. Companies that can innovate within strict price points and leverage techniques like additive manufacturing and commercial-off-the-shelf components will have a distinct advantage. This model rewards efficiency and creativity over a “cost-plus” mentality that has long dominated defense contracting. These innovations will need to be performed at scale though for the US to possess a true “attritable mass” capability
3. New Avenues for Industry Partnership The “Liberty Ship” production model, which explicitly plans for mass production across multiple manufacturers, disrupts the traditional prime contractor ecosystem. This approach creates significant opportunities for new and smaller industry players like SpektreWorks to compete for and win defense contracts. The intent is to favor companies with flexible manufacturing processes and open-architecture designs that can be readily replicated, thereby fostering a more diverse, resilient, and competitive industrial base.

Established prime contractors must therefore reassess their value proposition in the face of low-cost mass produced UAS, shifting from proprietary, single-system dominance to a model emphasizing rapid integration, open standards, and high-rate manufacturing collaboration. Ultimately, the Pentagon’s accelerated pivot towards low-cost, unmanned systems represents an attempt to match highly effective adversary capabilities without the alignment of industry, strategy, and geography that gave rise to the One-Way Attack drone. The awareness of this disadvantage may be the most illuminating aspect of this new task force.