The Pentagon and at least one Persian Gulf government are negotiating to purchase Ukrainian interceptor drones to repel Iranian drone attacks, according to Ukrainian industry sources, reports the Financial Times, writes UNN.
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Gulf states have been using expensive Patriot missiles to defend against waves of Iranian Shahed drones since the start of the US-Israel war. However, their stockpiles are dwindling, and they are turning to Ukraine's experience for cheaper protection against Russian drone barrages.
Ukraine first used mass-produced interceptors costing several thousand dollars to destroy Russian versions of Shahed drones, which are launched in swarms at Ukrainian cities. The cost of a Shahed is only $30,000, while interceptor missiles like the PAC-3, used in the Patriot system, cost over $13.5 million each.
One Ukrainian government official called the negotiations with the Pentagon a "delicate" topic. "However, there is clearly a surge of interest in Ukrainian interceptor drones capable of intercepting Shaheds at very low cost." A local industry representative stated that any sales of Ukrainian systems, even those produced outside the country, must be coordinated with Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that he had contacted the Emir of Qatar and the President of the UAE regarding the use of Ukrainian drone countermeasure technologies.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.
Experts claim that Iran may have accumulated tens of thousands of Shahed drones. Since the attack on Israel and the US, it has launched hundreds of such devices, using them primarily against Gulf states to sow terror and deplete opponents' anti-aircraft and air-to-air missile stockpiles.
Because they are easy to hide and launch from anywhere, Shaheds are less vulnerable to US and Israeli tactics based on destroying launchers and missile stockpiles on the ground before they are launched, the publication writes.
Ukraine has switched to using cheaper weapons, such as anti-aircraft guns and machine guns on trucks, to destroy drones, including Shaheds, which Moscow has been using against Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. "Ukraine has also been using high-speed interceptors since autumn, capable of reaching speeds of up to 250 km/h and catching up with Shaheds, whose maximum speed is 185 km/h," the publication indicates.
Ukraine, the publication writes, "is concerned about its own stockpiles of anti-drone ammunition." "However, it expects that if Middle Eastern countries use its interceptor drones instead of PAC-3 missiles for Patriot batteries, Ukraine will leave more global PAC-3 stockpiles needed to defend against modern cruise and ballistic missiles," the publication indicates.
As the publication points out, "Iranian tactics in the Persian Gulf mimic Russian tactics against the coastal city of Odesa, where Shahed drones glide over water as they approach to avoid radar and confuse missile interceptors." "Drones deployed in the open sea had the best chance of intercepting them," said one Ukrainian expert.
"Some interceptors can use computer vision to acquire a target, but others are remotely controlled," the publication writes.
In Ukraine, "literally a dozen companies produce kinetic interceptors - small bullet-shaped quadcopters or fixed-wing drones - for several thousand dollars apiece," said a person familiar with the negotiations.
Previously, Iranian Shahed drones were considered only a nuisance not worth an expensive interceptor, but in some cases, they caused real damage. On Saturday, a video emerged of a Shahed drone destroying a satellite dish at a US naval base in Manama, Bahrain.
"The fact that a Shahed is getting through at all, let alone to a military base that is an operational hub for the entire Middle East, and in broad daylight, is striking," said one person who served at the US Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.