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Pentagon Adopts Ukrainian Technology to Shield Middle East Bases From Drone Strikes
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The United States military recently integrated Ukrainian drone defense technology at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
The use of this technology suggests that the Ukrainian military has made significant progress in drone and counter-drone systems during the four years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian personnel recently arrived at the base to train American service members on the Sky Map software, according to Reuters on April 22.
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This platform is frequently used in Ukraine to identify threats from drones, including Iranian-designed Shahed models, and to coordinate counterattacks using interceptor drones.
As inexpensive, mass-produced drones become a major factor in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon has increased its spending on defensive systems. Analysts suggest that using Ukrainian software at Prince Sultan Air Base, located approximately 640 kilometers from Iran, highlights specific gaps in American air and missile defenses.
Timothy Walton, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, noted that "In the sphere of US missile defense around the world, there are long-standing gaps." He added that "This is well understood. However, this issue was not addressed."
Last month, a Pentagon unit focused on drone defense allocated $350 million to enhance protection under an initiative called Operation Epic Fury. Adam Sheer, a spokesperson for the unit known as Joint Integrated Task Force 401, stated that they are providing various new technologies, including sensors and interceptors. Sheer remarked that "There is no 'silver bullet' that would stop all threats associated with drones."
Sky Map has become a primary command-and-control tool for the Ukrainian military. It functions as a dashboard that combines data from radars and sensors to visualize incoming threats on maps and video feeds.
Sky Fortress was started in 2022 by engineers with military ties who set up over 10,000 acoustic sensors across Ukraine. The company received funding through Brave1, a Ukrainian defense tech initiative, to develop the software for coordinating responses to drone strikes.
At Prince Sultan Air Base, Sky Map is being used alongside other new systems, including Merops interceptors developed by Project Eagle, a US firm supported by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Sources indicated that early testing faced some challenges. During a recent trial at the base, a Merops interceptor reportedly lost control and crashed into a portable toilet block. A representative for Schmidt declined to comment on the incident.
Prince Sultan Air Base has faced multiple waves of drone and missile attacks since the start of the war. On March 27, an E-3 AWACS surveillance aircraft was destroyed, and several KC-135 tankers were damaged in separate strikes.
Reports also indicate that a tent housing a radar system for a THAAD missile defense battery was destroyed. The base currently uses several systems for protection, including Northrop Grumman’s Forward Area Air Defense software, which has been in use by the US Army since the 1990s to track threats ranging from mortars to drones.
In mid-March 2026, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine had proposed a strategic drone production partnership to the United States as early as the summer of 2025. This initiative included the joint manufacturing of electronic warfare systems and AI-enabled drones, with the workload split equally between Ukrainian and American engineers.
Zelenskyy noted that while Ukraine had received similar interest from countries in the Middle East and Africa, Kyiv had prioritized cooperation with Washington as its main strategic partner. Despite these efforts and the proven effectiveness of Ukrainian tech during Russia’s full-scale invasion, the president revealed that the agreement remained unsigned at that time due to various financial and logistical challenges.
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