Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on March 8 that an unspecified number of Ukrainian experts and military personnel will depart from Ukraine on March 9 to teach unspecified Middle Eastern states Ukraine’s knowledge on how to destroy drones, ISW reports.
Zelensky stated that Ukraine will provide the United States and countries in the Middle East with Ukraine’s expertise and military experience in combating Shahed drones, cruise missiles, and other aerial threats and noted that three unspecified Gulf states (likely the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Kuwait) seek to buy Ukrainian Shahed interceptors.
Zelensky has also spoken with several leaders from Middle Eastern states in recent days, including Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman al Saud, to discuss insights into countering Iranian threats.
Ukraine can offer the United States and US allies in the Middle East unique insights into how to combat Iranian strikes as the Ukrainian military has institutionalized and operationalized the fighting experience that Ukraine has learned throughout the past four years of war.
Several Ukrainian companies have the ability to export battle-tested interceptor drones to the United States and other US allies. Reuters reported on March 7 that Ukrainian manufacturers of low-cost interceptor drones stated that they have the capacity to export large volumes of drones.
SkyFall, a major Ukrainian drone and drone interceptor manufacturer, estimated on March 7 that it could produce up to 50,000 interceptor drones per month and could export 5,000 to 10,000 drones while still fulfilling Ukraine’s needs. Ukrainian drone manufacturer TAF Industries Head Oleksandr Yakovenko stated on March 8 that the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait have already requested or expressed interest in importing Ukrainian interceptor drones.
Yakovenko noted that it has taken several months to train drone interceptor operators and that training interceptor operators is the main limiting factor for countries looking to use the Ukrainian technology. Ukraine’s institutional knowledge has enabled Ukrainian firms to rapidly develop and refine capabilities specifically tailored to counter Iranian-origin weapons, and continued investment into Ukraine’s defense industrial base (DIB) is important for not just Ukrainian security but also for the United States and its allies.
