Shield AI Wins Pentagon Contract to Add Autonomy Software to LUCAS Drones

Shield AI has secured a Pentagon contract to integrate its Hivemind autonomy software onto the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, or LUCAS, as part of a pilot program to field drone swarms. The company announced the award today. Hivemind will serve as the AI pilot for the LUCAS program, enabling groups of drones to coordinate, maneuver, and adapt together to changing conditions in real time, based on warfighter input.

Once integrated, the platforms are expected to coordinate and maneuver together independently and without human intervention. A single human operator will remain in control of any decision to strike targets.

The effort shortens the time from detection to action across the kill chain. It marks a step toward operationalizing collaborative autonomy in dynamic and communications-constrained environments under the supervision of a single operator. The Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering’s office is spearheading the pilot program.

Shield AI said it expects to participate in an operational demonstration of the swarm capability this fall. The LUCAS drone is reverse-engineered from an Iranian Shahed 136. It carries a roughly $35,000 price tag, measures about 10 feet in length, and can carry an explosive payload that detonates on impact.

CENTCOM confirmed the use of a new one-way attack drone after the initial wave of strikes on Iran.