Ukraine's anti-drone tech is in high demand as Iran attacks its neighbors

KYIV, Ukraine — As the conflict in the Middle East escalates, Ukraine could prove to be an invaluable trove of battle-tested expertise from its own bitter and costly fight against Russia

KYIV, Ukraine — As the conflict in the Middle East escalates, Ukraine could prove to be an invaluable trove of battle-tested expertise from its own bitter and costly fight against Russia.

After months of pressure and hardened rhetoric from Washington aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, Kyiv is now also fielding requests for help as Iran’s Gulf neighbors grapple with the modern reality of drone warfare.

Hotels, airports and residential buildings have been hit in cities across the Gulf, wreaking havoc as Iran targets the U.S. military bases hosted by its neighbors. It’s a picture all too familiar in Ukraine, whose skies are swarmed by hundreds of Russian drones on a nightly basis, many of them of the Shahed type designed in Iran.

Kyiv’s forces deflect the majority of them every night, not with expensive air defense missiles — as many countries in the Middle East have done — but with much cheaper and more effective interceptor drones, technology honed and perfected by four years of intense drone warfare.

The raging war has made Ukraine a unique “ecosystem” that allows for real-time testing of innovative drone technology on the battlefield, said Marko Kushnir, a spokesperson for General Cherry, one of Ukraine’s top drone manufacturers.