Kyiv, Ukraine – Experts estimate that Iran has tens of thousands of Shahed drones.
Images recently released by Iranian media appear to show large supplies stored in underground production facilities, indicating that Iran could deploy the weapons in the foreseeable future.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Drones have been deployed in several Middle Eastern countries this week.
Tehran claims to be attacking US assets in the region in retaliation, after the US and Israel launched a war against it that has so far killed more than 1,000 people and seen its supreme leader assassinated.
In Ukraine, drone technology has been used on battlefields since Russia’s full-scale invasion began four years ago.
Now, Ukrainians are sure they have the answers on how to combat them.
In a muddy field, some young people test out a weapon they hope they will never have to use. A high-pitched hum fills the air as a cylindrical shape, no larger than a teapot, launches into the sky.
Al Jazeera cannot reveal the location of the camp for security reasons.
It’s a scene that shows how, despite hopes for a ceasefire, Ukraine is preparing to defend itself from a protracted war against Russia.
But the lessons of the battlefield are no longer limited to Ukraine, as a new, broader war engulfs the Middle East.
As Iranian-designed drones appear in the skies in the growing conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, kyiv is emerging as an unlikely source of solutions.
At the center of that change is cost.
Recent attacks across the Gulf have used millions of dollars’ worth of air defense missiles to destroy no more than $50,000 worth of drones.
Ukraine’s response is a system born of necessity, using interceptor drones designed to collide in mid-air with incoming threats at a fraction of the cost.
On Saturday, the war against Iran began as Ukraine and Russia were due to meet for another round of peace talks in Abu Dhabi.
In the following days, Iranian-designed Shahed-136 drones attacked countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
More than 1,000 drones launched towards the Gulf countries
According to Gulf defense ministries, as of March 5, 1,072 drones had been detected over the United Arab Emirates and 1,001 were intercepted. Qatar reported 39 drones detected and 24 intercepted, while Bahrain said it had destroyed 123 drones. Kuwait reported monitoring and intercepting 384 drones.
This is where Ukraine is positioning its battlefield expertise and interceptor drones as part of the solution.
According to a spokesperson for Skyfall, one of the private Ukrainian manufacturers that produces the drones, the interceptor system was first deployed about four months ago.
He spoke to Al Jazeera from his testing ground in Ukraine.
The weapons function as kamikaze drones, armed with a warhead and programmed to crash into a Shahed or any fixed-wing drone. The P1-SUN, Skyfall’s version of the interceptor drone, travels up to 310 km/hour (190 miles per hour).
The entire body, antenna, head, wings, and payload bay are 3D printed, making these weapons cheap and easy to produce at scale.
When it comes to repelling Shahed drones, the spokesperson says Ukraine is uniquely up to the task.
“We have been dealing with this problem for more than four years now. We know all the types of Shaheds that Russia deploys.”
That expertise comes from experience.
Iranian-made drones have caused extensive damage throughout Ukraine. In recent years, Ukraine has focused on intercepting them.
During the winter alone, Russia launched more than 19,000 attack drones against Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. In 2025, Moscow deployed 54,000 Shahed-type drones, renamed Geran-3, against the country.
Now Kyiv offers that hard-earned experience abroad.
Since Monday, Ukraine has offered assistance to partners seeking cost-effective air defense technologies.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump told the Reuters news agency that he would accept help from any country when asked about Ukraine’s offer to help defend against Iranian drones.
That same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said kyiv had received a specific request for help from the United States in dealing with drones in the Middle East.
“I gave instructions to provide the necessary means and ensure the presence of Ukrainian specialists who can ensure the required security,” he said in X.
Back at the proving ground, Skyfall’s spokesperson bluntly offers his advice to the world.
“They have to understand that interceptor drones are part of each country’s defense strategy, and it must be implemented right now. Not just the drones, but the entire ecosystem.”
