Iran has adopted Russia's drone warfare strategy wholesale, flooding Gulf skies with cheap Shahed drones to force the United States and its allies into a ruinous cycle of spending on interceptions that cost many times more than the weapons they destroy.
As "Hvylya" reports, citing the Financial Times, Gulf states have been relying heavily on firing missiles from complex and costly air defense systems such as the US Patriot to neutralize Iran's Shahed drones - the same model Russian forces use against Ukraine.
Kelly Grieco, senior fellow at the Stimson Center, estimates that for every $1 Iran spent on drones, the UAE spent at least 10 times as much shooting them down using medium-range systems such as the US National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System. Grieco called the reliance on fighter jets and anti-air missiles to counter cheap drones an extraordinarily expensive approach.
The approach mirrors Russia's tactics in Ukraine, where Moscow launched waves of cheap drones to deplete Ukrainian air defense stockpiles before following up with more advanced missiles. Iran applied the same logic against a far wealthier adversary, and the cost imbalance proved equally devastating.
The crisis has triggered urgent procurement efforts across the Middle East. Several Western defense start-ups reported that Gulf governments have reached out about securing supplies, even as the Pentagon has sought interceptor drone technology from Ukrainian companies that pioneered low-cost solutions on the front lines.
Also read: Oil Prices Surge Past $100: Petraeus Maps the Ripple Effects of a Blocked Strait of Hormuz.