Ukraine has sent interceptor drones and a team of anti-drone experts to protect US military bases in Jordan from Iran’s killer drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
As Iran continues to launch its Shahed suicide drones across the Middle East, Zelensky said the US, Europe and 11 nations neighboring the Islamic Republic have requested aid on how to counter the explosive UAVs.
“We reacted immediately,” Zelensky told the New York Times of the American request that came last Thursday.
Ukraine has spent the last four years fighting against the Iranian-designed attack drones, which have been adopted by Russia and then replicated in mass for daily bombardments.
While the US has its own advanced Patriot interceptor missiles to counter aerial attacks, the missiles are pricey and in short supply, with Zelensky estimating that Middle Eastern nations burned through more than 800 of them in the first days of the war.
It was notably an Iranian drone strike that killed six US soldiers in Kuwait on March 1, as the US military and its allies were unable to intercept it in time.
The interceptor missiles also cost more than $3 million each to produce, about 60 times more than what a single Shahed costs.
Ukraine has been able to counter the Shahed drones on a tight budget, and Zelensky has vowed to assist any ally that needs help against Tehran.
“There is clear interest in Ukraine’s experience in protecting lives, relevant interceptors, electronic warfare systems, and training,” Zelensky wrote on X. “Ukraine is ready to respond positively to requests from those who help us protect the lives of Ukrainians and the independence of Ukraine.
The US is reportedly leaning on that expertise as the army is rushing to deploy the counter-drone systems that have been tested in Ukraine to the Middle East.
The Merops drone killers are enroute to the region with a team of Ukrainians expected to be tapped to train US soldiers how to operate the UAVs, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The drone killers can fly at more than 180 mph and are small enough to be launched from a pickup truck and can autonomously target an incoming drone using radio waves, radar, or even the target’s heat signature, according to the outlet.
The counter UAVs have proven successful in Ukraine and cost less than $10,000 to make, a fraction of what the Shahed’s price, one US military official said.
While US officials have yet to issue a statement on the specifics of the partnership with Ukraine drone experts, Trump has previously welcomed any help allied nations provide in the war with Iran.
