US builds copy Shahed-style drones as training targets against Russian Geran-2/Iranian Shahed-136
August 11, 2025
The United States has now developed two copies of the Iranian Shahed drone, the MQM-172 Arrowhead and the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System. These are used for target practice in countering the prolific threat.
United States copy of the Iranian drone
Images have emerged online showing that the United States has developed its own version of the family of one-way attack munitions made famous by the Iranian HESA Shahed 136. These are built by Iran’s state-owned HESA in cooperation with Shahed Aviation Industries.
These readily recognisable drones (also called kamikaze drones or suicide drones) have become the face of the Russian war in Ukraine, where they are designated Geran-2s by Russia.
One new Shahed-style one-way attack drone recently developed by the United States is the MQM-172 Arrowhead. According to Air Power, this drone is an enhanced US copy of the Iranian Shahed-136. The specifications and performance of the drone are unknown.
American Shahed 2? You bet! Meet the MQM-172 "Arrowhead", an enhanced US copy of the Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drone. This is apparently the second Shahed clone; the first, called LUCAS (Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System), was developed by Arizona-based SpektreWorks and… pic.twitter.com/ptI5iq9vk9
— Air Power (@RealAirPower1) August 8, 2025
The intended role of the new American Shahed copy is unclear, but Air Power suggests it is to be used as a target drone for simulating shooting down these Iranian and Russian drones. It turns out that while Iran is typically the one copying the US, the roles can occasionally be reversed.
Interestingly, this would make the drone a true ‘drone.’ The name ‘drone’ comes from the British “Queen Bee” de Havilland DH.82B biplane target drone in the 1930s. American observers liked the British radio-controlled target drone so much that they built their counterpart drone (aka male bee), like the early Target Drone Denny 1 (TDD-1).
The United States’ second Shahed copy
Air Power points out that it is not the first such American clone, with the first being the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS). The US industry is currently developing a vast range of drones, from advanced loyal wingman drones to simple one-way attack drones.
That drone was developed by Arizona’s SpektreWorks and “marketed as an affordable, adaptable platform tailored for operations in the Indo-Pacific region.”
SpektreWorks copied and reverse-engineered the drone for target practice and training. On its website, it calls the drone the FLM 136 in an apparent reference to the Shahed-136. It says about the drone, “Reverse-engineered for authentic threat emulation.”
SpektreWorks adds, “With a professional airframe, broad performance capabilities, and multiple launch options, it offers unparalleled mission versatility. Its large payload capacity, drop-in module compatibility, and multiple auxiliary bays ensure ongoing compatibility to meet your evolving needs.”
It has a service ceiling of 15,000 feet, an endurance of 6 hours, and a wingspan of 8.2 feet. The range is 444 nautical miles. The drone market is burgeoning and is forecast to be worth $17 billion by 2028.
Originally a German drone
The Shahed-style drone was not originally an Iranian design. It was first developed by West Germany’s Dornier (existed around 1922 to 2002) during the 1980s as the DAR (Die Drohne Antiradar). That design was then apparently adopted by the Israelis for to IAI Harpy anti-radar loitering munition, which was then reverse-engineered by Iran as the Shahed-136.
According to Defense Express, the German drone was developed with the US to create a specialised single-use UAV ” that would be able to target Soviet radars, become a decoy averting enemy air defences from real weapons, or wipe anti-aircraft systems altogether in a ‘fire-and-forget’ way.”
— Der Gepardkommandant (@gepardtatze) July 20, 2025
The drone would have entered service with the German Bundeswehr in the 1990s, but the Cold War ended, and the project was scrapped. Some can now be seen on display at the Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen.
If that developmental path is true, then the Russians are using a copy (Geran-2) of an Iranian copy (Shahed-136), of an Israeli copy (Harpy), a German drone (DAR). Now these two American copies can be thrown somewhere in that copying loop.
