The United States will soon dispatch a proven American anti-drone system to the Middle East to strengthen its defenses against Iranian drones, according to two U.S. officials who spoke to The Associated Press on Friday.
Although the U.S. has successfully utilized Patriot and THAAD missile systems, there is currently a scarcity of effective anti-drone defenses in the Middle East, a U.S. defense official stated. The official was one of two who requested anonymity to talk about sensitive military issues.
The American effort to counter Iran’s Shahed drones has been “disappointing,” the second U.S. official remarked, noting that the drones Iran uses are a much simpler variant of the same model Russia is constantly improving for its war in Ukraine.
This push to enhance U.S. anti-drone capabilities in the Middle East highlights concerns about the planning for a regional response to American and Israeli strikes. Persian Gulf nations have voiced complaints that they were not adequately prepared for the onslaught of Iranian drones and missiles targeting their territories.
The system, called Merops, employs drones to combat other drones. Compact enough to be transported in the bed of a midsize truck, it can detect drones and approach them, using artificial intelligence for navigation even when satellite and electronic communications are disrupted.
Drones are difficult to detect on radar systems designed to identify high-speed missiles and can be confused with birds or aircraft. The Merops system is engineered to locate and eliminate them. A key advantage is that the system is more economical than launching a missile costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to destroy a drone priced under $50,000.
Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said this week that while the U.S. is proficient at intercepting missiles, “the massive stockpile of Iranian drones, which are challenging to detect and destroy, is a far greater problem for us.”
Himes described the drone attacks as a “math problem,” explaining that the U.S. cannot continue to depend on costly interceptors, such as Patriot systems, to shoot down the rapidly produced, inexpensive Iranian drones.
“It is extremely costly to eliminate an inexpensive drone,” he stated. “It’s a massive missile targeting a very small, rudimentary drone.”
Merops was previously deployed in NATO countries after repeated incursions into NATO airspace. The U.S. defense official indicated that America has gained valuable experience from the system’s deployment, and similar ones, in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that the U.S. requested assistance in fighting Iran’s Shahed drones, which Russia has deployed extensively in Ukraine. While Zelenskyy did not detail the nature of the assistance, the U.S. defense official confirmed the Merops system is involved.
When asked about the matter, Trump told Reuters on Thursday, “Certainly, I will accept, you know, any help from any country.”
In the Middle East, the Merops system will be stationed at various sites, including areas without a U.S. military presence, the defense official said. The majority of the units will be shipped directly by Perennial Autonomy—the manufacturer supported by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt—and this deployment will not impact defenses in Europe, the official added.
Perennial Autonomy did not provide an immediate comment regarding the use of Merops in the Middle East.
This week, during private briefings with lawmakers, Pentagon officials acknowledged difficulties in halting swarms of drones launched by Iran, which has left some American assets in the Gulf region exposed.
“This does not imply we can intercept everything, but we made sure the highest possible level of defense and force protection was established before we initiated offensive operations,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters this week.
Michael Robbins, the president and CEO of the drone industry group AUVSI, stated that the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine demonstrate the urgent need for the U.S. to speed up the implementation of advanced counter-drone technologies. This is essential so “our forces can protect bases and civilians without expending a million dollars to neutralize a $50,000 threat.”