US Taps Into Ukraine’s Drone Defense Skills to Combat Iranian Threats, Promising Big Savings

KYIV — The United States has reached out to Ukraine, seeking its valuable battlefield expertise in dealing with Iranian-manufactured drones, as disclosed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday.

In response, President Zelensky has directed his team to “provide the necessary means and ensure the presence of Ukrainian specialists” to support the U.S. in its ongoing efforts against potential threats from Iran.

“Ukraine stands ready to assist partners who contribute to our security and safeguard our citizens,” Zelensky stated, emphasizing the mutual benefits of this collaboration.

The knowledge shared by Ukraine could be crucial for the US and its allies, potentially saving both lives and financial resources. Ukrainian officials highlighted that their country has devised cost-effective methods to neutralize these drones, offering an alternative to the expensive $4 million Patriot interceptor missiles traditionally used.

When questioned about this new development by The Post, former President Trump lauded the collaborative efforts of allied nations in addressing threats associated with Iran.

“We’re making significant strides. We have a lot of great champions,” Trump remarked, referring to the partner nations working to counteract attacks linked to Iran. “We have a lot of winners,” he added.

Countries in the Middle East have been facing strikes from Iranian “Shahed” drones — the same type widely used by Russia against Ukrainian cities since the start of the full-scale invasion.

“We received signals from partners in the Middle East. There have been strikes by Iranian ‘shaheds’ on civilians in those countries,” Zelensky also said in a post to X. “They are seeking our expertise.”

It was an Iranian drone strike that killed six US soldiers in Kuwait on March 1, as the US military was unable to intercept it in time.

Follow The Post’s coverage of the United States’ airstrikes on Iran:

Ukraine has spent years building up defenses against the long-range one-way attack drones, developing interceptor drones and other tactics to bring them down more cheaply than traditional air defense missiles.

In the post, which used remarks he made to Rai Italia, Zelensky said Kyiv would be open to sharing that experience.

“If their representatives come, we will provide the expertise,” he said, adding that requests have also come from European partners and the United States to share lessons learned from Ukraine’s defense against drone barrages.

Asked about Zelensky’s offer, Trump also told Reuters on Thursday he would “take any assistance from any country.”

Maj. Gen. Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy chief of Ukraine’s defense intelligence, told The Post in Kyiv on Monday that Kyiv’s approach is multi-pronged — a necessity for the complex threats of modern warfare.

“We have the expertise to know when and from which direction the Shaheds are launched, and the routes they fly,” he said. “We use different types of air defense systems in cooperation — mobile groups, missiles, anti-air defense systems and radio electronic warfare.”

Skibitskyi predicted that Kyiv would most likely provide Ukrainian troops to train partner militaries on how to address the threat.

“I think first of all, we’re going to be instructors — trainers. Then they will share their expertise in each of those components of the system,” he said. “The firing groups, the anti-air missiles and the electronic warfare, because a big part of the intercepted drones are exactly smashed with the anti-radio warfare.”

“A big part of the intercepted drones are actually brought down using electronic warfare.”

That strategy could save the US and its partners millions of dollars, as it is a far cheaper option to down drones than using air defense missiles like Patriot interceptors — which cost around $4 million per shot.

Ukraine remains heavily reliant on Western air defense systems, particularly the Patriot, but Zelensky said those missiles are too expensive to use against large waves of low-cost drones.

“They have missiles for the Patriots, but hundreds or thousands of ‘shaheds’ cannot be intercepted with Patriot missiles — it is too costly,” he said.

Instead, Ukraine has leaned increasingly on interceptor drones and other cheaper tools to shoot down incoming threats.

At the same time, Zelensky acknowledged Ukraine faces its own shortages of key air defense munitions, including PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptor missiles used by Patriot batteries.

“Regarding weapons: We ourselves are at war,” he said. “We have a shortage of PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles.”

Because of those shortages, Zelensky said, Ukraine would be open to broader technology or weapons exchanges with allies.

He also suggested the drone cooperation could become a two-way exchange of military technology.

“When it comes to technology or weapons exchange, I believe our country will be open to it,” he said.