Image Credit: Gailan Haji / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images 
Three weeks after President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukrainian drone specialists were helping five Gulf states counter Iranian Shahed drones and build low-cost interceptor-based air defenses, he revealed Friday that Ukrainian military personnel had just recently shot down Shaheds in the Gulf theater.
“Our teams are already working with five countries on countering (Iran’s) ‘Shahed’ drones — we have provided expert assessments and are helping build a defense system,” Zelensky stated on X in mid-March.
By Friday, AP News quoted Zelensky as saying Ukrainian personnel helped partners build effective air defenses using interceptor drones to combat Iranian Shaheds.
“This was not about a training mission or exercises, but about support in building a modern air defense system that can actually work,” Zelensky said.
Low-cost interceptor drones deployed by Ukraine are among the most effective ways to combat the inexpensive $20,000 Shaheds, as a war of attrition makes little economic sense when interceptor missiles cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.
Ukraine has had four years to develop low-cost one-way attack drones and interceptors during its war with Russia. Now, this technology is clearly being exported across multiple theaters in Eurasia.
Zelensky did not identify the countries or the exact interceptor drones used, but it is possible that Octopus-100 autonomous interceptor drones were deployed.
