Iran Strikes Showcase American AI, Drone and Cyber Advances

U.S. strikes in Iran are providing an early demonstration of the Pentagon’s vision for its use of artificial intelligence, autonomous drone and cyber operations.

Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. military “will become an ‘AI-first’ warfighting force across all domains.”

National security officials have long emphasized the need for AI to accelerate warfighter decision-making. Current operations are highlighting that shift, with AI-enabled planning tools and real-time data sharing between forces and allies.

“The speed and scale of AI war planning during Operation Epic Fury allowed us to identify and engage targets at what we call ‘the speed of thought’,” said U.S. Central Command Commander Adm. Brad Cooper during a press briefing following the initial strikes. “For the first time, our drone task force, Task Force Scorpion Strike, launched countless one-way attack drones to neutralize imminent threats before the adversary could even register a launch.”

Pentagon CIO Kirsten Davies recently emphasized plans for building collaborative data environments with industry partners and allies, noting that the department is focused on scenarios “where we’re sharing data back and forth … to get the decision-making at speed at the edge,” she said last month at the Defense Tech Leadership Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Role of Drones in the Modern Battlefield

One of the prominent components of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. military campaign against Iran, has centered on drones. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine confirmed that autonomous and AI-enabled capabilities played a key role in the operation.

“We’ve got a lot of autonomous systems or systems that are drones and others incorporated with smart AI aspects,” Gen. Caine said during a press briefing last week.

U.S. Central Command said the initial wave of 900 strikes was planned and executed within a 12-hour window using Low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS), a one-way attack drone that provides a cheaper alternative to traditional missiles.

LUCAS was a product of a Pentagon technology transition initiative aimed at moving emerging capabilities from prototype to battlefield deployment more quickly. Hegseth’s June 2025 drone memo directed the services to accelerate acquisition and fielding of affordable autonomous systems, leading to LUCAS’ launch in July.

Funding for LUCAS was made possible via Under Secretary of War for Research & Engineering (OUSW(R&E))’s Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program for small businesses and non-traditional defense contractors.

Defense company SpektreWorks received a $30 million contract for initial LUCAS production. Company officials attributed the platform’s rapid development in part to participation in the Technology Readiness Experimentation (T-REX) campaign led by OUSW(R&E). T-REX events accelerate the development, evaluation and delivery of emerging capabilities directly to warfighters through operational experimentation.

“Our journey to APFIT was significantly bolstered by our participation in [T-REX]. Demonstrating our systems in real-world operational scenarios provided invaluable feedback and showcased our capabilities to key stakeholders, directly contributing to our APFIT qualification,” the company stated on LinkedIn last year.

The Pentagon’s January release of its National Defense Strategy outlined a broad blueprint for countering threats that included the Golden Dome initiative and unmanned capabilities.

The strategy aligns with recent War Department guidance over modernization and rapidly fielding emerging capabilities.

“Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, accounting for most of this year’s casualties in Ukraine. Our adversaries collectively produce millions of cheap drones each year,” said Hegseth last summer.

Cyberspace as a Battlefield

Alongside the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes during Operation Epic Fury, cyber effects reportedly targeted Iranian services and communications networks to disrupt the regime’s ability to coordinate a response.

“Coordinated space and cyber operations effectively disrupted communications and sensor networks across the area of responsibility, leaving the adversary without the ability to see, coordinate or respond effectively,” Gen. Caine said during his briefing.

Experts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said there is “significant evidence that Iran will retaliate in cyberspace” following Operation Epic Fury and cited the regime’s state-directed “Great Epic” cyber campaign, past attacks against U.S. banks, election interference efforts and the exploitation of industrial control systems.

“Taken together, these operations reflect a maturing offensive cyber program capable of targeting both civilian infrastructure and critical national systems,” wrote CSIS Strategic Technologies Program’s Kuhu Badgi, program coordinator and research assistant, and Lauryn Williams, deputy director and senior fellow.

The National Defense Strategy spoke to these movements and shifted focus from passive defense to building “formidable cyber defenses.”

“The department will prioritize bolstering cyber defenses for U.S. military and certain civilian targets. DOW will also develop other options to deter or degrade cyber threats to the U.S. homeland,” according to the strategy.

Davies said she is conducting a review across DOW to optimize department technology initiatives, including cyber policy, projects and initiatives.

“[We will] review every initiative, every project, every piece of work that’s being conducted across the broader technology estate,” Davies said. “This includes CIO. This includes DISA … this includes the NSA cybersecurity directorate as well to review all of those initiatives in light of the National Defense Strategy … on what things might be improved, what things should be accelerated, what things should continue, what things should stop.”