Trump asks Zelensky for help defending against Iranian drones
Senior military commanders warn lawmakers that they may not have the full capacity to shoot down all the aircraft sent by Tehran
WashingtonA year ago, Donald Trump booed Volodymyr Zelensky in front of the cameras in the Oval Office. "You're not winning [the war]. Without us, you have no cards," the US president told him. Now it is Trump who is knocking on Zelensky's door to ask for help in the war he has decided to wage against Iran alongside Israel. The Iranian Shahed drones that began flying over the Persian Gulf on Saturday are old acquaintances of Kyiv: Russia has been sending deadly waves of these devices against the Ukrainians for four years, who have had to learn how to fight them. Now Washington is asking for advice on how to counter these weapons that threaten to reduce the Pentagon's air defense systems ammunition reserves
"We have received a request from the United States for specific support in protecting against Shahed drones in the Middle East region. I have instructed that the necessary resources be provided and that the presence of Ukrainian specialists be ensured to guarantee the required security," Zelensky wrote on Thursday in X. The request for assistance comes after operations in the region.
Shahed drones have transformed modern warfare. Compared to other defensive weapons, such as ballistic or cruise missiles, they are much cheaper and easier to produce. A Shahed costs only about $10,000, while a cruise missile, such as the Tomahawk, can cost between one and two million dollars. The high availability of Shahed drones has allowed for the deployment of veritable swarms that end up overwhelming air defense systems. This high availability gives them a clear advantage over anti-aircraft defense systems such as Patriot or THAAD, whose manufacture costs millions of dollars and requires at least a year.
In the fight against Iranian Shaheds, Ukraine has developed interceptor drones, which either collide with the unmanned devices or explode near them. Although Kyiv says missiles remain the most effective way to take down Shaheds, these interceptor drones are becoming increasingly common on the battlefield. There are many Ukrainian companies that produce them, as well as some European ones. Still, the only ones with the knowledge and experience to pilot them are the Ukrainians.
The Pentagon's capability, compromised
During the first days of the conflict, the US has seen Iran launching inexpensive drones against its costly defense systems. One of the reasons Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine warned Trump against initiating a conflict with the ayatollahs' regime was the Pentagon's dwindling ammunition reserves. The inventory of Tomahawks, THAAD interceptors, and similar weapons has been dwindling over the past year in Israel's defense against other attacks. Although the US president told Truth Social that the US has a "virtually unlimited supply" of munitions, the figures the military is working with tell a different story. This Tuesday, top military commanders told members of Congress in a classified meeting that they might not have the full capacity to shoot down all Iranian drones, according to reports. The Guardian.
In the Gulf, the same thing is happening as during the Twelve-Day War: although the military is managing to shoot down most Iranian drones, they cannot intercept them all. Adding to this is the fear that the ayatollahs are sending swarms of drones with the aim of further reducing the dwindling ammunition reserves of the U.S. military. One of the most compromised systems is THAAD, which can intercept both drones and ballistic missiles.
During the war in June of last year, The two THAAD systems that the US had deployed in Israel used up about 25% of their interceptors in just 12 days. Trump estimates the war will last between "four and five weeks," although Centcom predicts the conflict will last at least 100 days, with the possibility of it dragging on until September. Another symptom of the precarious state of U.S. ammunition stockpiles is the meeting Trump has called for this Friday with the country's leading arms manufacturers. Companies like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon's parent company, RTX Corporation, along with other key suppliers, have been invited to attend, according to Reuters. The administration will try to pressure the companies to accelerate production. Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg has been working in recent days on a request for supplemental funding that could be made public as early as this Friday. The new money would be used to replace weapons used in recent conflicts, including the one in the Middle East.
