A week into the U.S.’s war in Iran, American drone expert Brett Velicovich joined Fox News anchor Jesse Watters to tout the role of advanced American drone defense technology used in the operation. In the split-screen beside him, footage of air defenses downing Iranian Shahed drones appeared to underscore his point.
Except they weren’t American air defenses.
“Hi @FoxNews — small clarification,” Wild Hornets, a Ukrainian drone company, wrote on X. “The footage shown in this segment features STING — a Ukrainian interceptor drone developed by engineers at Wild Hornets and used by Ukrainian air defense units to destroy Shahed-type drones.”
The mixup drew renewed attention to both Ukraine’s drone expertise and to America’s lack of drone defense preparedness, as Iran’s aerial bombardment depletes interceptor stockpiles across the Middle East.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that Ukraine will work with the Pentagon and Gulf allies to share what it has learned during four years of drone warfare. And a spokesman for Wild Hornets, the Ukrainian drone company, confirmed to CBS News that it is “ready to help Ukraine’s strategic partners if called upon to do so.”
But experts say solutions will take time.
“It has taken Ukraine an extremely long-time to get their high interception rates,” Robert Tollast, a drone expert at the Royal United Services Institute, told CBS News. “There is no off-the-shelf solution that you can just buy. Building a layered system of air defense is more resource-intensive, and it takes time to build that technology into your security forces.”
Cost mismatch
Just days into the war in Iran, Arab states in the Persian Gulf were already running low on interceptors, two regional officials confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday. At the core of the problem was a cost mismatch between expensive interceptors used to shoot down comparatively cheap Iranian drones. The Pac-3 Patriot air defense missiles used by many of America’s Gulf allies costs around $12 million to produce, while an Iranian Shahed drone costs $50,000.
On Wednesday, Zelenskyy announced that the Pentagon and America’s Gulf allies were seeking Ukraine’s expertise to solve the problem.
“We received a request from the United States for specific support in protection against ‘shaheds’ in the Middle East region. I gave instructions to provide the necessary means and ensure the presence of Ukrainian specialists who can guarantee the required security,” Zelenskyy said on X, noting in an earlier post that “Iranian attack drones are the same ‘shaheds’ that have been striking our cities, villages, and our Ukrainian infrastructure throughout this war.”
Alex Nikitenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Ukraine is particularly well-suited to advise on more cost-effective solutions to bring down drones, as it has often lacked more expensive Western air defense systems throughout its war. Zelenskyy noted in a press briefing this week that the 800 Patriot air defense missiles used by Gulf states to intercept Iranian missiles and drones has already surpassed the total number of Patriot missiles provided to Ukraine during its four-year war with Russia.
Kyiv has instead invested in a layered system of missile interceptors, drone interceptors, heavy machine guns, and planes that take down Russian drones. The military’s drone interceptors, which include Wild Hornets’ Sting drones, cost as little as $2,500 — significantly less expensive than the anti-aircraft missiles used across the Middle East.
“Everyone can now see that Ukraine’s experience in defense is, in many respects, irreplaceable,” Zelenskyy said on X. “We are ready to share this experience and help those nations that helped Ukraine this winter and throughout this war.”
Long-term cooperation, no quick fix
Even as Ukraine deploys its expertise to the Middle East, collaboration is more likely to take the form of long-term partnerships rather than rapid remedies to the current shortages America’s Gulf allies face.
Solutions, experts say, are just as much about tactics and knowledge-sharing as they are about deploying particular technology.
“There is not a single magic bullet, one interceptor drone, that is able to take down these drones,” Deborah Fairlamb, founder of Ukraine-based defense venture capital firm Green Flag Ventures, told CBS News. “Within Ukraine, it is a multi-layered defense that they use starting all the way from the border with Russia and are able to track in.”
Even for Wild Hornets’ Sting drones — which have downed 3,900 drones over Ukraine since May 2025 — making an impact in the Middle East would take time.
“We can train an experienced pilot on our drones in three days,” Alex Roslin, a spokesman for Wild Hornets, told CBS News. “But that does not mean that a Ukrainian or U.S. drone pilot can come and they are knocking down Shahed drones in three days. It is about building teams and creating an integrated network of air defense, and how to work with tactical radar units and other teams.”
Experts stress that transferring this expertise on drone defense, in particular, is more difficult than other aspects of warfighting.
“The principle of drone attacks is that it is forcing you to defend everywhere all the time. You need light mobile defenses, you need radars, you need very different types of maneuverable defenses against cheap drones,” Tollast said.
Still, Ukraine’s drone-makers remain prepared to help America’s Gulf allies as long as they are clear-eyed about the long timetable in store.
“If a partnership was created by the Ukrainian government, we are 1000% ready to fill those needs,” Roslin said. “But passing along that entire body of knowledge, you can imagine how complex that will be.”