Iran mocked Washington this week after the Pentagon confirmed it has deployed a new strike drone modeled on Tehran’s Shahed-136. Iranian officials called it a humiliating moment for a superpower that once dismissed Shaheds as crude weapons. The US version, known as LUCAS, was created after American engineers dismantled a captured Shahed and reverse-engineered it. These low-cost drones are already operating in West Asia. Tehran says the move proves its technology has reshaped modern warfare, from Ukraine to regional conflicts. Analysts say the US shift signals a deeper change: the future of air combat belongs to cheap, expendable drones, not billion-dollar platforms.