nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
The U.S. Army is rushing to the Middle East counterdrone systems that have been battle-tested in Ukraine, in an effort to thwart Tehran’s destructive attacks across the region, U.S. officials said.
A small number of the defensive systems, dubbed Merops, are being sent from U.S. Army stocks in Europe, along with U.S. personnel to operate them and train other troops, U.S. officials said.
U.S. officials said that additional systems will be provided by the U.S. company that produces them, Perennial Autonomy, in which billionaire Eric Schmidt is an investor. Schmidt and representatives of his companies didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
A U.S. official said that Ukraine is likely to provide trainers. Ukraine didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the U.S. and its regional allies have sought Kyiv’s help against Iranian strikes.
The U.S. isn’t the only country interested in Ukraine’s battlefield experience. Representatives of Qatar and other Gulf states targeted by Iranian drones and missiles have traveled to meet with Ukrainian arms manufacturers and learn from their experience in building supply chains.
U.S. use of Ukraine-tested innovations marks a turnabout. For several years, U.S. military officers have sent equipment to Ukraine and studied the war there to learn how to defend against Russia’s large fleet of one-way attack drones. Now, Ukraine has become a laboratory for defensive systems to be used in President Trump’s new war against Iran—specifically in fending off Iran’s Shahed drones.
Shaheds, which Russia uses extensively, are an Iranian-developed weapon, so the U.S. faces a threat that is familiar from Ukraine. Moscow manufactures its own Shaheds and has developed versions that are even more advanced than those Iran is now launching.
The U.S. and its allies deployed some Merops systems in Poland and Romania last year following incursions by Russian drones. It has proved to be a popular system with Ukraine forces.
The Merops is itself a drone, small enough to be launched from a pickup truck. It can autonomously seek an incoming drone using radio waves, radar or the target’s heat signature. When roughly a mile from its target, it uses artificial intelligence to lock onto the target and detonate nearby, according to its users. Merops can travel at speeds of more than 180 miles an hour and reach an altitude of up to around 16,000 feet, according to one user.
Each Merops counterdrone drone costs less than $10,000, said one U.S. military official. The cost per unit should drop to around $7,000 as production volume increases, the official said. At least some of the Merops are produced in Taiwan, the official said.
The unit price is far lower than the cost of systems the U.S. and allies are now firing at incoming Iranian missiles and drones. Interceptor missiles from U.S.-made Patriot air-defense systems can cost around $4 million and producing them is a slow process.
A small number of the defensive systems, dubbed Merops, are being sent from U.S. Army stocks in Europe, along with U.S. personnel to operate them and train other troops, U.S. officials said.
U.S. officials said that additional systems will be provided by the U.S. company that produces them, Perennial Autonomy, in which billionaire Eric Schmidt is an investor. Schmidt and representatives of his companies didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
A U.S. official said that Ukraine is likely to provide trainers. Ukraine didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the U.S. and its regional allies have sought Kyiv’s help against Iranian strikes.
The U.S. isn’t the only country interested in Ukraine’s battlefield experience. Representatives of Qatar and other Gulf states targeted by Iranian drones and missiles have traveled to meet with Ukrainian arms manufacturers and learn from their experience in building supply chains.
U.S. use of Ukraine-tested innovations marks a turnabout. For several years, U.S. military officers have sent equipment to Ukraine and studied the war there to learn how to defend against Russia’s large fleet of one-way attack drones. Now, Ukraine has become a laboratory for defensive systems to be used in President Trump’s new war against Iran—specifically in fending off Iran’s Shahed drones.
Shaheds, which Russia uses extensively, are an Iranian-developed weapon, so the U.S. faces a threat that is familiar from Ukraine. Moscow manufactures its own Shaheds and has developed versions that are even more advanced than those Iran is now launching.
The U.S. and its allies deployed some Merops systems in Poland and Romania last year following incursions by Russian drones. It has proved to be a popular system with Ukraine forces.
The Merops is itself a drone, small enough to be launched from a pickup truck. It can autonomously seek an incoming drone using radio waves, radar or the target’s heat signature. When roughly a mile from its target, it uses artificial intelligence to lock onto the target and detonate nearby, according to its users. Merops can travel at speeds of more than 180 miles an hour and reach an altitude of up to around 16,000 feet, according to one user.
Each Merops counterdrone drone costs less than $10,000, said one U.S. military official. The cost per unit should drop to around $7,000 as production volume increases, the official said. At least some of the Merops are produced in Taiwan, the official said.
The unit price is far lower than the cost of systems the U.S. and allies are now firing at incoming Iranian missiles and drones. Interceptor missiles from U.S.-made Patriot air-defense systems can cost around $4 million and producing them is a slow process.
