What is a loitering munition?
A loitering munition is a single-use armed drone that can circle over an area while its operator looks for a target, then dives into the target and explodes. It is often called a kamikaze or one-way attack drone.
Also known as: Kamikaze drone, One-way attack drone, Suicide drone
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How it works
A loitering munition sits between a drone and a missile. A 2017 overview from the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College defines it. The overview calls it an unmanned aircraft built to hit ground targets beyond the operator's line of sight with an explosive warhead. Daylight and infrared cameras let the operator find a target, watch it and steer the aircraft into it. What sets it apart, the authors wrote, is loitering: it can circle for an extended time while the operator picks a target and a moment to strike. It is also expendable, built to detonate on impact.
Some models fit in a backpack. In July 2026, U.S. Army testers described systems that one or two soldiers can launch, then fly manually or send along preset waypoints. Each has a geofence, they said, a safety boundary the armed aircraft is not supposed to leave. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) describes much larger long-range designs, like Iran's Shahed series, as one-way attack drones. Its March 2025 report, citing U.S. defense officials, said the largest of the Shahed models whose parts U.S. forces recovered in Iraq could carry up to 50 kilograms of explosives.
Why it matters
Many loitering munitions are marketed for infantry use because they are more precise than weapons like mortars, the Bard authors wrote. One-way attack drones are used in very large numbers. Citing daily reports from Ukraine's Air Force, the Kyiv Independent reported on August 12, 2026 that Russia launched around 4,450 long-range drones at Ukraine in January 2026. It reported a record 8,150 in May and nearly 5,000 in July. Russia's Geran drones are based on Iran's Shahed design.
Where things stand in 2026
The U.S. military has fielded its own. U.S. Central Command announced on December 3, 2025 a task force for a squadron equipped with the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS). It called this the U.S. military's first one-way attack drone squadron based in the Middle East. Central Command confirmed the drone's first combat use in strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, Defense News reported. It described LUCAS as reverse-engineered from the Shahed-136 and priced at around $35,000 each. The Army said in July 2026 it was testing four vendors' designs, with a live warhead test planned for November. Its stated goal was fielding loitering munitions to soldiers by summer 2028.
Sources
- Loitering Munitions In Focus, Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College
- U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground tests Low Altitude Stalking and Striking Ordnance, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (via DVIDS)
- Department of Defense Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Background and Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service
- Ukraine's HUR reveals size of Russia's Geran attack drone stockpile, The Kyiv Independent
- U.S. Launches One-Way-Attack Drone Force in the Middle East, U.S. Central Command
- US confirms first combat use of LUCAS one-way attack drone in Iran strikes, Defense News
