Ukraine has sent interceptor drones and a team of drone specialists to help protect U.S. military bases in Jordan as fighting related to the war with Iran intensifies across the region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with The New York Times.
Zelenskyy told the NYT that Washington had made the request on Thursday, and Kiev responded quickly, dispatching the drone team the next day.
“We responded immediately,” Zelenskyy said. “I said yes, of course we will send our experts.”
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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi stands during a joint press conference with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Rob Jetten on March 8, 2026 in Kiev, Ukraine. (Viktor Kovalchuk/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images)
The reported request comes as the US and Gulf states work to intercept hundreds of Iranian missiles and thousands of drones launched in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian drones have hit the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, including an attack on a tactical operations center in Kuwait that killed six US service members.
The large number of Iranian Shahed drone launches has drawn attention to the cost difference between the relatively cheap unmanned aircraft and the much more advanced air defense systems, such as Patriot missiles, used to intercept them.
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According to the Department of the Army’s fiscal year 2026 budget estimates, the cost for a single Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptor is $3.8 million.
A simple Iranian-designed Shahed drone costs about $20,000 to $50,000, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
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FPV training drones are seen on a wall at the Killhouse Academy drone training center on March 4, 2026 in Kiev, Ukraine. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
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“Iran knows it can’t match the US or the Gulf states plane for plane or missile for missile, but it can change the economics of the conflict,” said Patrycja Bazylczyk, deputy director of the Missile Defense Project at CSIS. in an interview with Military Times.
“Drones allow Iran to punch above its weight, keep its adversaries off balance and project power across the region at minimal cost. We cannot simply play ball in the air,” she added. “Shooting down drones one by one is the most expensive way to fight the cheapest threat. We need to go after the roots: the launch sites, the production lines and the storage depots.”
