US has deployed Ukrainian counter-drone tech at base in Saudi Arabia

The US military has introduced Ukrainian counter-drone technology in recent weeks at a key US air base in Saudi Arabia, according to five people with knowledge of the matter, as it seeks to stem attacks that have destroyed aircraft and buildings, and killed at least one service member.

The deployment of a Ukrainian command-and-control platform called Sky Map at Prince Sultan Air Base, which has not previously been reported, is a sign of how Ukraine’s military has surged ahead in drone and counter-drone technologies that have been battle-hardened in its four-year war with Russia.

Ukrainian military officials arrived at the base in recent weeks to train US warfighters with Sky Map, which is used widely by the Ukrainian military to detect incoming drone threats — including Iranian-developed Shahed drones — and launch counter-attacks with interceptor drones.

As cheap, mass-produced drones play a large role in Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Pentagon has ramped up investments in counter-drone technology. But the use of Ukrainian technology at Prince Sultan, which is about 400 miles (640 kilometers) from Iran and has endured waves of drones and missiles since the war began, highlights vulnerabilities in US air and missile defense, analysts say.