(KYIV, UKRAINE) – As the conflict involving Iran reaches its one week milestone, the nature of the warfare continues to evolve significantly. Military analysts are currently monitoring the strategies employed by the United States and Israel to strike key Iranian positions, alongside the retaliatory measures taken by Tehran. A staggering volume of over one thousand drones was launched at the United Arab Emirates within a single twenty-four hour window. These Shahed drones, characterised by their low cost and abundance, present a persistent threat. Consequently, the United States has formally requested assistance from Ukraine to help defend Gulf allies against this specific aerial challenge. Exclusive insights from a Ukrainian Special Forces drone commander reveal that the international community has much to learn from Ukraine’s defensive map and tactical innovations.
Current operations began with initial strikes on the Ayatollah’s compound, marking an overwhelming display of conventional air power. The strategy involves Offensive Counter Air operations, a doctrinal term used to describe the systematic destruction of enemy assets. This includes neutralizing aircraft on the ground to prevent them from posing a threat to American or Israeli Air Force jets. Further objectives involve the destruction of air bases and runways, alongside the elimination of integrated air defence networks and the disruption of command and control nodes. These efforts are geared towards achieving air superiority, allowing for unimpeded air operations.
Target sets across Iran include missile facilities in the west, positioned to extend their range across the Middle East, and various drone facilities which remain a primary concern for Gulf nations. Strategically critical naval bases, such as Bandar Abbas located north of the Straits of Hormuz, are also targeted to limit Iranian power projection in economically vital waters. The United States is currently utilising the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, or TLAM, which possesses a range of one thousand miles. These cruise missiles, launched from carrier strike groups including the Gerald Ford and the Abraham Lincoln, travel at low levels to evade detection and can be fitted with steel penetrators to function as bunker busters. Additionally, B-2 Spirit and B-1 Lancer bombers have conducted thirty-seven hour round trips from the continental United States. This logistical necessity arose because the Trump administration failed to secure approval from the United Kingdom to utilise Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands. While GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators were not used in this instance, supersonic B-1 bombers carrying 75,000 lb payloads have caused significant damage.
The ballistic missile threat from Iran remains the most diverse in the region. Short range Shahab-1 and Shahab-2 missiles have ranges up to 500 kilometres, while the Qiam-1 reaches 750 kilometres. The Shahab-3, with a 2,000 kilometre range, places RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus within its reach. Further concerns involve the Khorramshahr missile, which carries a warhead of up to 1,800 kilograms, and the Sejjil missile, which may reach 2,500 kilometres. However, the Shahed-136 drone remains the most pervasive daily challenge. In 2025, the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin launched over 60,000 of these drones at Ukraine, with a further 12,000 launched in the first two months of 2026. In the first week of the current conflict, Iran launched over 2,000 drones.
The cost-benefit ratio of defending against these drones is currently unsustainable. While an Iranian Shahed drone costs approximately 35,000 to 50,000 US Dollars (£27,500 to £39,300), a single US Patriot PAC-3 interceptor costs 4 million US Dollars (£3.15 million). The Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system costs 13 million US Dollars (£10.2 million) per launch, and the British ASRAAM costs 250,000 US Dollars (£196,500). Faced with these figures, President Zelenskyy has informed counterparts in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait that Ukraine is prepared to take concrete steps to help defend military and civilian infrastructure.
Ukrainian Special Forces, specifically the Typhoon Brigade, have developed low-cost interceptors that travel at 150 mph, outpacing the 120 mph Shahed. These interceptors are intuitive to operate, with experienced first-person view (FPV) pilots requiring only five to seven days of training. These units are mobile and difficult to target via satellite, unlike static Patriot batteries. Ukraine’s experience suggests that a combination of detection systems, mobile air defence groups, and high-speed interceptors is essential to neutralizing the drone swarms that previously depleted conventional defences. Despite sanctions, 40 of the 52 components in captured Shahed drones were found to be manufactured by 13 American companies, with others sourced from Canada, Japan, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, China, and Switzerland via shell companies. Ukraine now stands as the global leader in advising on the neutralization of these “dual-use” weapons.
