What are the Ukrainian drone interceptors sent to counter Iranian attacks? 

Ukraine has dispatched drone interceptors and military personnel to Jordan as Middle Eastern countries fend off Iranian strikes on infrastructure and United States military assets during the US-Israel war on Tehran.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that a Ukrainian team departed on Friday for Jordan, which has US military assets at its Muwaffaq Salti Air Base.

The move followed a request on Thursday from the US, Zelenskyy said, as Washington seeks cheaper technology for intercepting Iranian missiles targeting Israeli and US defence assets as well as other infrastructure across Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

At the moment, the US is using air defence systems such as Patriot missiles, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries and Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft to intercept Iranian drones and missiles targeting its military assets in the region.

However, these types of systems are expensive, costing millions of dollars for each interceptor missile fired, and there are concerns that supplies of US interceptor missiles could run low.

Iran is deploying its cheap, domestically produced Shahed drones across the Gulf and is believed to have thousands in stock. These are the same drones it has supplied to Russia over the course of Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Kyiv, which has long sought more advanced US defence systems, has developed technology to mass-produce much cheaper interceptor drones to counter drone swarm attacks from Russia.

“Ukrainians have been fighting against ‘shahed’ drones for years now, and everyone recognizes that no other country in the world has this kind of experience. We are ready to help,” Zelenskyy wrote on X on Thursday, adding that Ukraine has asked for advanced US defence systems, such as the Patriot system, in exchange.

In a Monday post on X, Zelenskyy confirmed that 11 countries, including the US, Gulf and European countries, had requested Kyiv’s help and some requests “have already been met with concrete decisions and specific support”.

Here’s what we know about the Ukrainian drones the US and Gulf countries want to deploy:

Ukraine has been building thousands of low-cost interceptor drones to counter Iranian Shahed-type drones over the course of the Russia-Ukraine war.

After failing to receive enough high-end weaponry from its allies, such as US Patriot missile defence systems, Kyiv was forced to innovate in 2025. Now, it has become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of the “Shahed Killers”.

The cheap but powerful drones are designed to shoot down Russian attack drones before they reach their targets. They are operated by pilots tracking them on a monitor or wearing first-person-view (FPV) goggles. Each one is priced at about $1,000 to $2,000 – a fraction of the several million dollars it costs to manufacture, transport and fire a high-tech US interceptor.

Ukrainian manufacturers are producing thousands of them per month.

Analysts said the drones can counter a range of attacks but cannot intercept ballistic missiles. So far, they also require trained pilots positioned close to their area of engagement although manufacturers are now developing automated models.

There are several models that have been developed in Ukraine:

• The Sting: This quadcopter is shaped like a bullet and is about the size of a large thermos. It is the fastest of the interceptors, reaching speeds of 315 to 343 kilometres per hour (196 to 213 miles per hour), and can cruise at an altitude of 3,000 metres (10,000ft). It relies on thermal imaging cameras to hit targets, and it returns to base if it cannot locate one. Its domed head carries the camera system and an explosive payload. It is manufactured by Ukraine’s Wild Hornets start-up.
• Bullet: Developed in late 2025 by the Ukrainian weapons manufacturer General Cherry, this high-speed interceptor is driven by a jet engine and four rotors. It can be 3D-printed and uses AI-assisted guidance to locate targets. It can reportedly travel at speeds of 130km/h to 309km/h (81mph to 192mph) and cruise at up to 5,500 metres (3.4 miles).
• P1-Sun: The 3D-printed craft produced by the weapons company Skyfall can fly at up to 300km/h (186mph). It looks similar to the Sting.
• Octopus 100: This interceptor is designed in Ukraine but mass-produced in the United Kingdom. Its technical details are unclear.
• ODIN Win_Hit: Another bullet-shaped drone is built for short-duration, high-intensity missions. It has a maximum speed of 280km/h to 300 km/h (174mph to 186mph) and can fly up to 5,000 metres (3.1 miles) for seven to 10 minutes at a time. It’s developed by the Ukrainian defence company ODIN.

How does the Iranian Shahed operate?

Russia has launched thousands of Iranian-designed Shahed drones at Ukraine, resulting in hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths and heavy infrastructure damage. Increasingly, they’ve been countered by Ukraine.

A New York Times analysis found that Russia sent about 5,000 drones into Ukraine in February and Ukraine downed 87 percent of them.

Iran, which has long supplied Moscow with weapons, has used the same models in its strikes on its neighbours as it faces heavy bombardment from the US and Israel. One drone hit Kuwait last week, killing six members of the US military, the Times reported.

Priced at about $20,000 to $33,000 each, the GPS-guided drones are about 3.5 metres (11.5ft) in length. They are loitering munitions and self-destructing vehicles mounted with explosive payloads and automated to blow up upon hitting programmed targets.

Moscow is believed to have incorporated its own elements into the Iranian design and now mass-produces thousands of the “kamikaze” models. Zelenskyy claimed in his X post on Monday that there were “Russian components” in the crashed remains of Shaheds that Iran has used on its Gulf neighbours.

What have the US and Gulf countries been using against Iranian missiles?

The US has been supporting Gulf countries in intercepting Iranian missiles with expensive defence systems, including:

• Patriot missile systems: The Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) and PAC-3 are advanced surface-to-air missile defence systems built by US defence contractor Lockheed Martin that can intercept aircraft, cruise missiles and short-range ballistic missiles. Ukraine has repeatedly asked the US for more Patriot batteries, which consist of a truck-mounted launching system with eight launchers that can hold up to four missile interceptors each, ground radar, a control station and a generator. Each Patriot missile costs about $4m, and launchers are about $10m. About 90 personnel are required to operate the system. They are in short supply as Lockheed Martin delivered a record 620 PAC-3 MSE interceptors, the most Patriot missiles, in 2025. Zelenskyy said the US and its Middle Eastern partners have already burned through 800 of those, compared with the 600 delivered to Ukraine in four years.

• THAAD missile defence system: Also developed by Lockheed Martin, the THAAD uses a combination of radar and interceptors to counter short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles and can operate at high altitudes. A THAAD battery consists of six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors – eight for each launcher – one radar system, and a fire control and communications component and needs 95 personnel. Each battery costs about $1bn to $1.8bn to produce.

• AWACS aircraft: These aircraft form part of an early-warning radar system designed to detect missiles and long-range projectiles from up to 400km (250 miles) away.