DRONES USE STARLINK AND VIASAT SATELLITES
During its development at the Pentagon, the LUCAS drone was paired with satellite communications systems, including Viasat’s MUSIC and SpaceX’s Starlink or Starshield, according to two sources familiar with the programme. Reuters could not determine what connectivity systems are being used during the current Iran operations.
Neither SpaceX nor Viasat returned requests for comment.
A startup called Noda provides the software to control the drones, known as an “orchestrator” that allows warfighters to control multiple autonomous systems, one of the sources familiar with the programme said.
Noda declined to comment. Reuters could not determine if NODA was being used during the Iran operation.
Drone experts told Reuters the LUCAS design shares similarities with Iran’s Shahed drone, which Tehran has supplied to Russia for use in Ukraine. The Shahed is believed to be a copy of Israel’s Harpy loitering munition, according to defence analysts.
The Harpy design has been widely replicated by countries, including China and Taiwan.
The LUCAS also bears resemblance to the Drone Anti-Radar, a loitering munition jointly developed in the 1970s and 1980s.
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