U.S. Adopts Counter‑Drone Tech
- U.S. forces deployed Ukrainian-made counter‑drone systems at a Saudi base following Iran‑related attacks. - Reports say the systems were used for threat detection and interception duties at the base. - The move occurred alongside Air Force testing of semiautonomous combat drones, reflecting shifts in counter‑UAS approaches. ( )
The U.S. military has begun using Ukrainian counter-drone technology at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia after Iranian attacks exposed gaps in base defense. (usnews.com) Reuters reported on April 22 that the system is a Ukrainian command-and-control platform called Sky Map, and that Ukrainian officials recently went to the base to train U.S. personnel. Prince Sultan sits about 400 miles from Iran and has faced waves of drones and missiles since the war began. (usnews.com) Sky Map is used by Ukraine to spot incoming drones and cue interceptor drones for the response, according to Reuters’ account of the deployment. The same report said attacks on the Saudi base had destroyed aircraft and buildings and killed at least one U.S. service member. (usnews.com) Prince Sultan is not a remote outpost. It is an active U.S. Air Force expeditionary base in Saudi Arabia operated under U.S. Air Forces Central Command, with the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing based there. (dvidshub.net, afcent.af.mil) The Pentagon has already been shifting money and policy toward this problem. A Defense Department fact sheet released in December 2024 said Replicator 2 was launched to defend “critical installations and force concentrations” from small aerial systems, with an emphasis on detection and active and passive defenses. (media.defense.gov) Congressional researchers described the same pressure in a March 31, 2025 report, saying the Defense Department was changing doctrine, organization and training while fielding tools that range from air-defense systems to handheld jammers. The report said the Army has primary responsibility for coordinating counter-drone strategy and requirements across the services. (congress.gov) At the same time, the Air Force is testing a different piece of the drone shift: semiautonomous combat aircraft meant to fly with crewed fighters. On April 16, the service said Airmen from its Experimental Operations Unit flew Anduril’s YFQ-44A at Edwards Air Force Base as part of its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. (airandspaceforces.com) That test was about operating attack drones; the Saudi deployment was about stopping them. Together they show the U.S. military trying to speed up both sides of the drone fight after years in which cheaper unmanned aircraft have spread faster than the defenses built to defeat them. (airandspaceforces.com, media.defense.gov, usnews.com)
