U.S. Troubled by Iranian Drones, Sending ‘Ukrainian System’ to the Middle East

Darwin, 07 March: 

The United States is preparing to send an anti-drone system to the Middle East that was successfully used in Ukraine to counter Russian drones. After struggling to effectively stop Iranian drones, Washington plans to strengthen regional defenses using this technology.

Two U.S. officials familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the U.S.-based news agency Associated Press (AP).

One U.S. defense official said that the United States has already successfully used Patriot missile systems and THAAD missile defense systems to intercept Iranian missiles. However, effective defenses against drones in the Middle East remain limited.

Another official said that U.S. efforts to counter Iran’s Shahed drones have been “frustrating.” Russia has regularly updated and used similar drones in the war in Ukraine. Although they are similar, the drones used directly by Iran are often more basic versions.

The initiative to strengthen U.S. anti-drone capabilities in the Middle East comes amid concerns that Iran could launch attacks across the region in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes. Gulf countries have complained that they were not given enough time to prepare for Iran’s large-scale drone and missile attacks.

The new system the United States plans to deploy in the Middle East is called the Merops drone system. It uses a “drone-versus-drone” technology to destroy hostile drones. The system is small enough to be mounted on the back of a medium-sized pickup truck.

This system can detect drones and approach them to destroy them. It uses artificial intelligence, allowing it to navigate toward its target even if satellite or electronic communications are disrupted.

Detecting drones is generally difficult because radar systems are primarily designed to detect fast-moving missiles. As a result, drones are sometimes mistaken for birds or small aircraft. The Merops system is specifically designed to detect and destroy drones.

This drone defense system is relatively inexpensive. Shooting down a drone with a missile can cost several hundred thousand dollars, while many drones cost less than $50,000.

Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said:
“We are quite good at shooting down missiles. But detecting and destroying large numbers of Iranian drones is much more difficult.”

He added that such drone attacks create a kind of “mathematical problem” for the United States, because repeatedly using extremely expensive defense missiles to destroy cheap drones is not sustainable.