Ukraine’s Interceptor Drones Could Shield the Middle East From Iranian Shaheds at a Fraction of the Cost

Iran has launched about 500 ballistic missiles and several thousand drones at targets across the Middle East, according to publicly available data cited in the press. Considering that intercepting a single ballistic missile requires two PAC-3 missiles for the Patriot system—each costing more than $10 million—the total price tag is staggering: roughly $10 billion spent just to repel ballistic missile attacks.

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The challenge is that the primary—and only—manufacturer of PAC-3 missiles, Lockheed Martin, produced just 620 of them in 2025. Replenishing existing stocks alone would take more than a year.

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Britain has already proposed a possible solution: turning to Ukraine for help.

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To understand the scale of the challenge Ukraine faces, one number is enough: 19,000. That is how many Shahed and other drones Russia launched against Ukraine in the winter of 2025–2026 alone. The number continues to grow: more than 15,000 drones were launched during the summer of 2025. Ukrainian cities remain under constant attack, while the country’s territory is vast.

Ukraine operates a multi-layered defense system that includes anti-aircraft missiles, anti-aircraft guns, mobile fire groups, and interceptor drones. As a result, expensive PAC-3 missiles do not need to be used to intercept Russian-Iranian Shahed drones.

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