An American anti-drone system proven to work against Russian drones in Ukraine will soon be sent to the Middle East to bolster US defenses against Iranian drones, two American officials told the AP on Friday. While the US has used Patriot and THAAD missile systems to take down Iranian missiles successfully, there are limited effective anti-drone defenses now in the Middle East, according to one of the officials. The US effort to counter Iran's Shahed drones has been "disappointing," the other said, particularly because the drones fired by Iran are a much more basic version of the same drone that Russia is continuously refining and updating in its war on Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted Thursday on X that the US had asked for such assistance, per the Washington Post. The systems, along with advisers, will be dispatched to the Persian Gulf region because "Ukraine helps partners who help ensure our security," he said. The effort to bolster US anti-drone capabilities underscores concerns about the planning for an Iranian retaliatory response across the region to the American and Israeli strikes, per the AP. Persian Gulf countries have complained they were not given adequate time to prepare for the torrent of Iranian drones and missiles bombarding their territory.
The system being sent, known as Merops, flies drones against drones. It is small enough to fit in the back of a midsize pickup truck, can identify drones and close in on them, using artificial intelligence to navigate when satellite and electronic communications are jammed. Drones are hard to pinpoint on radar systems calibrated for spotting high-speed missiles and can be mistaken for birds or planes. The Merops system is designed to spot them and take them down. The system also is cheaper than firing a missile that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars at a drone that costs less than $50,000.
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