US turns to Ukrainian technology to defend against Iranian attacks

The US military has in recent weeks begun using Ukrainian technology to combat drones at a key air base in Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported, citing several sources familiar with the matter. The agency's sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the Prince Sultan base uses a Ukrainian command and control platform known as Sky Map, and Ukrainian military officials are training American soldiers to use it. The Ukrainian military uses the system to identify drone threats, including Iranian "Shahed" drones, and to launch interceptor drones.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump publicly rejected an offer from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to help counter Iranian drone attacks. "We don't need their help defending against drones," Trump told Fox News in early March. The White House and the Pentagon referred Reuters to the US Central Command, which is responsible for the Middle East and the Prince Sultan base, but the command did not respond to a request for comment. Neither Sky Fortress, the Ukrainian company that owns Sky Map, nor the Ukrainian president's office responded to the agency's request for comment. Cheap, mass-produced drones play a major role in Russia's attacks on Ukraine, and the Pentagon has increased its investment in technology to combat drones. Analysts say the use of Ukrainian technology at the Prince Sultan base, about 400 miles (640 kilometers) from Iran, which has been subjected to waves of drone and missile attacks since the start of the US-Israeli-Iran war, highlights weaknesses in US air and missile defenses. "There are long-standing deficiencies in the coverage of US air and missile defenses around the world. This is well known. But it has not been addressed," said Timothy Walton, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington. Skymap is the primary command and control platform for the Ukrainian military, Reuters sources said. This type of platform, which usually consists of a dashboard with maps and real-time image transmissions, combines data from radar and sensors to detect threats. Merops interceptor drones made by the US company Project Eagle were also used at Prince Sultan during the war, but they have had problems. Earlier this month, during a test at Prince Sultan, one Merops interceptor lost control and crashed into a toilet block on the base, Reuters sources said.