"The US Army is deploying an American-made counter-drone system that has intercepted more than 1,000 Shahed-type drones in Ukraine to the Middle East, two defense officials confirmed on Saturday to Business Insider. One of the US officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss military developments, said that the Merops system will arrive in the Middle East within a week. Once it arrives, it'll be ready for combat in a matter of days."
"The counter-drone system, which uses a roughly $15,000 interceptor, would give US and allied forces a much cheaper air defense option against Iranian drones, compared to expensive surface-to-air missiles. The Shahed drones, which cost roughly $20,000 to $50,000 according to available estimates, complicate the air defense picture. In significant quantities, they can overwhelm even advanced air defense systems, or at the very least force Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) crews to expend millions of dollars in interceptors to defeat a threat only a fraction of that cost."
"The Merops counter-drone system launches a propeller-driven drone called the Surveyor, which is a few feet long, can be carried by a single soldier, and uses artificial intelligence to navigate in jammed environments."
The US Army is deploying the Merops counter-drone system to the Middle East following its proven success in Ukraine, where it has intercepted more than 1,000 Shahed-type drones. The system uses propeller-driven interceptors that cost approximately $15,000 each, providing a significantly cheaper air defense option compared to traditional surface-to-air missiles like Patriot and THAAD systems. The deployment arrives as Iran has launched thousands of attack drones at US military and allied forces across the Middle East. Shahed drones, costing $20,000 to $50,000 each, can overwhelm advanced air defense systems when deployed in large quantities, forcing expensive interceptor expenditures. The Merops system uses AI-guided Surveyor drones that can operate in jammed environments and will be combat-ready within days of arrival.
#counter-drone-systems #middle-east-military-deployment #cost-effective-air-defense #iranian-drone-threats #merops-system
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