Published reports say Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is offering help to countries in the Middle East when it comes to defending against Iranian drones.The distinctive buzz of Iranian-designed flying bombs has become a familiar sound in Ukraine over the past four years. Now, it's increasingly heard across the Persian Gulf as Tehran strikes back with the cheap but effective weapons following the attack by the U.S. and Israel against Iran. An Alabama U.S. Army veteran, who volunteered to help the Ukrainian military, says they’re good at that type of warfare.
Alex Drueke spent one hundred and four days as a prisoner of war after he and his unit were captured near Kharkiv. Since his release, through a captive exchange negotiated by Saudi Arabia, the Tuscaloosa resident has re-visited Ukraine on humanitarian missions. His time with the U.S. Army, and his experience fighting on the front lines for Ukraine, gave him an up-close opportunity to see that nation’s military evolve, particularly when it comes to drones.
“What they've done with drones is mind blowing,” said Drueke. “My last trip there, I was there with a defense tech NGO (non-governmental organization,) and we were going to conferences and exhibitions held by the Ukrainians for just specifically drone warfare and counter drone warfare. (Ukrainian) Air drones are starting to involve AI technology to where, you know they don't need if the operator loses signal, because there's so much electronic warfare and jamming going on, if they lose signal, it doesn't matter, because the drone can control itself. It's mind blowing what they're doing.”
Reports in Forbes, Yahoo News, and Forces News indicate that President Zelenskyy is offering Ukrainian expertise to Middle Eastern nations to defend against Iranian drones, if these nations pressure Russia into a cease fire in that nation’s war against Ukraine.
Available in big numbers, the drones have shown their capability to oversaturate air defenses and inflict painful damage at a very low cost. After Russia’s botched attempt to capture the Ukrainian capital after its full-scale invasion with tanks, troops and missiles in February 2022, the fighting has turned into a war of attrition that has been increasingly shaped by drones. While swarms of small drones have played a decisive role on the battlefield, both Russia and Ukraine also have increasingly relied on longer-range drones to attack deep into each other's territory.
The Shahed drones have made a transformative impact on modern warfare, with Russia sending swarms of the deadly weapons into the skies above Ukraine on nightly missions. While ballistic and cruise missiles fly much faster and pack a bigger punch, they cost millions and are available only in limited quantities. A Shahed drone costs only tens of thousands of dollars — a tiny fraction of a ballistic missile.
After reaching a deal with Tehran to import Shahed drones early in the war — Shahed means “witness” in Farsi — Russia localized their production. Russian engineers have increased its altitude, made it more jamming-resistant and fitted it with more powerful warheads.
The Russian replica of the Shahed — called “Geran,” or “geranium” — has been put in production at a plant in the Russian province of Tatarstan that has exponentially increased output.
Since then, Russia has battered Ukraine with hundreds of drones in a single night – more than were used during some entire months in 2024.
By using large numbers in a single attack, Moscow’s strategists seek to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses and distract them from engaging more expensive cruise and ballistic missiles that Moscow often uses alongside the drones to hit high-value targets. And while it flies slow at 180 kph, it can range as far as 2,000 kilometers and carry a relatively big load of 40 kilograms of explosives. Ukrainians have dubbed them “mopeds” for their distinctive buzz.
Ukraine has relied on mobile teams armed with machine guns as a low-cost response to the drones to spare using more-expensive Western-supplied air defense missiles. It also has developed interceptor drones and is working to scale up production, but the steady rise in Russian attacks has strained its defenses.
