U.S. Sends 10,000 Interceptor Drones to Middle East as Trump Dismisses Need for Ukraine

The United States Army has sent 10,000 interceptor drones to the Middle East to counter Iranian attacks, without using expensive anti-missile defense, announced Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.

The Merops drones, equipped with artificial intelligence, were dispatched five days after the start of Operation Epic Fury.

• These drones were developed by Project Eagle, a military project supported by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and have been previously used in Ukraine, as reported by Bloomberg.

The cost of a Merops drone ranges from $14,000 to $15,000, but large orders can reduce the price to $3,000–$5,000 per unit, much less than Iran’s Shahed drones, which cost at least $20,000.According to Driscoll, their use allows the US and Israel to intercept Iranian attacks without consuming Patriot or THAAD missiles, each costing over $4 million.

President Donald Trump stated on Friday that the United States does not need Ukraine’s help in defense against drones: “We know more about drones than anyone. We have the best drones in the world,” he said in an interview for Fox News Radio.

Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had stated that 11 countries, including the US and European states, had requested Ukraine’s assistance in countering Iranian attacks, and Kyiv had sent military experts to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

• Zelensky says that Americans and their Gulf allies ask Ukraine for help in defending against Shahed drones
• Zelensky: Ukraine has sent experts in drones to protect American bases in Jordan

Last night, Zelensky commented on Trump’s statement, saying that “rhetoric is rhetoric, what’s important is that we know what we’re doing,” as reported by Ukrainska Pravda.

In addition to Merops, the US military has sent Coyote drones from RTX Corp. and Bumblebee quadcopters to the region, equipped with explosives to destroy enemy drones.

The Bumblebee system was previously tested in Ukraine, and the Pentagon acquired these drones through a $5.2 million contract in January 2026, through the Joint Interagency Task Force 401, established to rapidly develop and implement drone defense capabilities.

Romania is also involved in the Merops program, and the system has already arrived in the country for testing and integration into the air defense, as part of NATO’s efforts to strengthen the eastern flank against drone threats.