As war erupted in the Middle East, the US and its allies were confronted with the question of how to stop swarms of cheap drones without using enormously expensive air-defense missiles. It’s a problem Ukraine has been battling ever since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Now, in a notable reversal in the direction of traffic, President Zelenskyy says countries under attack are flocking to ask Kyiv for aid. At least 11 countries, as well as the US and European states, are seeking help. Ukrainian equipment and personnel are already on the way to Jordan and elsewhere in the region.
They are badly needed. Key air defense radars for the US THAAD system in the Middle East, each costing around $500m, have been badly damaged by Iranian attacks, CNN reported on March 6. It’s not known if missiles or drones were responsible. Drones often cost thousands of dollars but can overwhelm air defense systems and force defenders to expend interceptor missiles worth hundreds of thousands — sometimes millions. Over time, the economics alone can overwhelm even the most advanced air-defense systems.
In a three-day period at the start of the Middle East fighting, Zelenskyy said 800 Patriot missiles had been expended, more than his country has used since Russia’s all-out invasion four years ago. That rate of use is not sustainable and might also reduce supplies for Ukraine. Kyiv has suggested swapping its anti-drone tech in return for Patriots, which it needs to destroy ballistic missiles.
So what does Ukraine have to offer?
One key innovation has been an acoustic detection network built by Ukrainian engineers from simple components. Mounted microphones and smartphones on poles were used to listen for the distinctive sound signatures of incoming drones and missiles before sending data through mobile networks to an AI system to track aerial threats.
The system, known as Sky Fortress, has since expanded into a nationwide network of more than 10,000 sensors, which help detect low-flying Shahed drones when they evade traditional radar.
Ukraine has also been working extensively on drone interceptors to replace pricey systems like Stinger missiles. In February, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, said homegrown interceptor drones had destroyed more than 70% of Shahed drones over the Kyiv region. Ukrainian units conducted about 6,300 interceptor sorties in February alone, destroying more than 1,500 Iranian-designed Russian drones.
The Ukrainian-made interceptors are much cheaper than traditional missiles. The Octopus interceptor drone, for example, costs roughly $3,000 — a fraction of the price of the missile systems it replaces. Developed with the UK and manufactured there, mass production began to deliver large numbers of products in February. Some others are even cheaper. The P1-Sun drone interceptor, produced by SkyFall, costs around $1,000 and has destroyed thousands of Russian drones, according to the manufacturer.
Ukraine is also experimenting with launching aerial interceptor drones from unmanned surface vessels in the Black Sea. Video shared by Oliver Carroll, a reporter for The Economist, showed a small interceptor UAV launching from one of the boats before destroying a target during a test flight.
The concept effectively turns the naval drone into a mobile launch platform capable of engaging attacks before they near coastal cities such as Odesa. Interceptors that can operate over water may also prove useful for Gulf states facing similar threats from low-flying drones approaching from the sea.
But Ukraine’s experience also suggests no single technology can solve the drone problem.
For example, Olena Kryzhanivska, a Ukrainian defense analyst, notes that interceptor drones cannot cover large territories, and their operational radius typically ranges between 10km (6 miles) and 50km.
She said Ukraine has addressed this limitation by building a layered air-defense system. It combines mobile fire groups armed with machine guns and MANPADS, helicopter interception teams (which the UAE has already imitated), interceptor drones, electronic warfare, fighter aircraft, and traditional surface-to-air missile systems.
The biggest misunderstanding about countering Shahed-type drones is the belief that any single system can solve the problem, according to defense technology investor Deborah Fairlamb, co-founder of Green Flag Ventures. Effective defense requires sensors and military equipment operating across wide territories and linked through coordinated command structures, she said.
This is where Ukraine may have the most to offer countries countering the fallout from the Israeli-US attack on Iran. While its capacity to export home-produced hardware is limited by the large quantities it still needs for its own defense, it can export operational experience — including training for drone operators and advice on building layered air-defense networks tailored to local geography and threats.
Ukraine has been forced to innovate. It doesn’t have access to more sophisticated hardware and simply cannot afford more resource-heavy models of defense. The human element remains critical.
“The West is so naive,” said a British soldier serving in Ukraine’s International Legion who goes by the call sign Solo. “Ukraine has been defending its cities with pickup trucks mounted with .50-cal machine guns for years.”
The mass attacks keep constant pressure on air defenses while repeatedly striking critical infrastructure, complicating efforts to repair power grids and factories.
“These guys work 24/7,” Solo said. “Yes, there are interceptors and other systems, but the backbone is people who have trained purely to keep civilians alive.”
Bryan Pickens, a former US Army Green Beret who has fought alongside Ukrainian special forces, told this author that he sees a broader training opportunity. “We need Ukraine to help professionalize Western warfighters — to teach how these systems are used and how to defend against them,” he said.
“Ukrainian interceptor teams are the only ones with significant experience using drones specifically against Shahed-type attack UAVs,” said Jonathan Lippert, president of Defense Tech for Ukraine. Even with partially automated interceptors, successful interceptions still depend heavily on piloting skill, coordination, and how interceptor teams are positioned across an area.
But the Gulf states have to begin somewhere, and have been urgently making contact with Ukrainian drone manufacturers about purchasing interceptor systems, according to the Financial Times. Oleksandr Yakovenko, founder of TAF Industries, said the United Arab Emirates had enquired about 5,000 interceptor drones, while Qatar had expressed interest in 2,000, and Kuwait was also exploring purchases.
Yet Ukraine’s most valuable export may be the hard-earned experience of how to build an entire system capable of stopping swarms night after night, and how to more efficiently shoot the archer. Every night, Russia attacks, and every night, Ukraine defeats most of the incoming targets, numbering anything up to 800 in number. It is a hugely difficult task that no one can do better.
David Kirichenko is a freelance journalist and an Associate Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. He can be found on X/Twitter @DVKirichenko.
Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions expressed on Europe’s Edge are those of the author alone and may not represent those of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis. CEPA maintains a strict intellectual independence policy across all its projects and publications.
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