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CapabilityC1likely · moderate confidenceWest · friendlyRU · adversarycross-side corroborated

US recovers FLM-136/LUCAS Shahed-136 clone near Eglin AFB

Bottom line

US forces recovered a damaged FLM-136 (LUCAS) loitering munition near Eglin AFB, revealing it to be a reverse-engineered Iranian Shahed-136 clone costing approximately $35,000.

Why it matters

Provides insight into the US domestic production and testing of low-cost, Shahed-derived loitering munitions, including their vulnerability to loss and the specific cost structure of this class of weapon.

Clash Report and Intel Slava report that a US FLM-136/LUCAS loitering munition was recovered off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, near Eglin AFB, following a test loss or malfunction. The recovered drone was missing its engine, propeller, and nose cone but matched the design of a reverse-engineered Iranian Shahed-136. The system is estimated to cost around $35,000. This incident highlights the ongoing testing and potential operational risks of these domestically produced, Iranian-derived systems.

Evidence — 2 independent origins

  • Intel Slavasource Dorigin t.me
    Original text (excerpt)

    🇺🇸 ⚡️ — Employees of a fishing tour company found and recovered a U.S. LUCAS loitering munition near Pensacola, off the western coast of Florida. @IntelSlava

  • Clash Reportsource Corigin t.me
    Original text (excerpt)

    A Florida fishing charter hauled a Shahed-136 clone drone out of the Gulf of Mexico near Eglin Air Force Base. Eglin confirmed it lost a drone during testing but wouldn't confirm it was the same one. The recovered drone matches the FLM-136/LUCAS — America's own reverse-engineered

NamedLUCASFLM-136Shahed-136Eglin Air Force BaseTopicsdronescomponents

Related findings

← Latest findings · All findings from September 2026

History · version 1 · first published · last substantive update

Cite this finding
Robot War (2026). US recovers FLM-136/LUCAS Shahed-136 clone near Eglin AFB. Hetzner OSINT, 20 September 2026. https://robotwar.io/osint-hetzner/2026-09-20--us-recovers-flm-136-lucas-shahed-136-clone-near-eglin-afb/

@misc{robotwar-2026-09-20--us-recovers-flm-136-lucas-shahed-136-clone-near-eglin-afb,
  title = {US recovers FLM-136/LUCAS Shahed-136 clone near Eglin AFB},
  author = {Robot War},
  howpublished = {\url{https://robotwar.io/osint-hetzner/2026-09-20--us-recovers-flm-136-lucas-shahed-136-clone-near-eglin-afb/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Hetzner OSINT finding C1}
}

Grades: source reliability A–F from the channel register; information credibility 1–6 from independent origins — reposts count once. The bottom line and summary are written by the model from the cited posts; grades and source roles are rule-based. Methodology 2026-10-15.v6 · Corrections · JSON · RSS · API performance