Ukraine May Hold The Key To Stopping Iran’s Drones

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – Iran’s $20,000 Shahed Drones Swarm Past $4 Million U.S. Missiles. Stripped down, a Shahed-131 or Shahed-136 drone — name means “witness” in Farsi — is a small, delta-winged missile with a propeller-driven engine at the back — a rudimentary cruise missile.

They are effective not because they travel at hypersonic speeds or boast advanced stealth technology, but because there are too many for interceptors to neutralize.

That is Iran’s air attack strategy — overwhelm U.S.-Israeli forces with waves of “flying missiles” that knock out ground radars and air defenses, making it easier for larger and more powerful ballistic missiles to break through.

And even if drones are shot down, a $4 million U.S. rocket was used to hit a $20,000 drone.

Ukraine Creates New Interceptor Drone to Counter Shahed Drones. Ukraine’s Wild Hornets group has introduced new means of air interception. These are specialized unmanned aerial vehicles designed to engage enemy targets in the air that can operate effectively at night and at high speed.

Their key advantage is the ability to quickly detect and physically destroy an airborne threat before it approaches infrastructure or populated areas. It has also developed a copter-type interceptor drone capable of reaching an altitude of 11 kilometers

One in every three Russian aerial targets destroyed over Ukraine is now brought down not by missile or gun, but by interceptor drones that each cost less than a used car, Ukraine’s air force says. Drone killing drones were credited with more than 70% of Shahed downings in February.

U.S. and Mideast countries seek Kyiv’s drone expertise in countering Iran’s Shahed drones, as Russia-Ukraine talks are put on ice. Ukrainian assistance in countering Iranian drones will be provided only if it does not weaken Ukraine’s own defenses, and if it adds leverage to Kyiv’s diplomatic efforts to stop the Russian invasion. Pentagon eyes Ukrainian interceptor drones to counter Iran.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense news from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

THE PDB – Not the President’s Daily Briefing, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF:    

NATIONAL SECURITY

The House narrowly rejected a war powers resolution to halt President Trump’s attacks on Iran.

The Trump administration is following through with the threat to designate AI company Anthropic as a supply chain risk in an unprecedented move that could force other government contractors to stop using the AI chatbot, Claude.

Fighting an economic war without fused intelligence. The U.S. is fighting an economic war without organizing itself for one. While adversaries weaponize supply chains, capital flows, technology access, and industrial dependencies, the U.S. continues to operate its economic and national security systems along largely separate lines — managed through distinct authorities, processes, and intelligence channels.

HOMELAND DEFENSE

North American Aerospace Defense Command detected and tracked two Russian Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft operating within Alaskan and Canadian Air Defense Identification Zones.

HOMELAND SECURITY

President Trump demoted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, naming Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to fill the post, which is responsible for overseeing Coast Guard, ICE, TSA, and dozens of other federal agencies.

DHS to purchase 1900-acre campus of former Birmingham-Southern College to use as Coast Guard recruit training center.

NARCO TERRORIST THREAT

Ecuador sinks “narco sub” as nation works with U.S. to fight organized crime and drug cartels designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) by the U.S.

IRAN THREAT

Who Is Mojtaba Khamenei, a Son and Possible Successor of Iran’s Supreme Leader?  Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is tipped to succeed his father as the supreme leader of Iran.

Iran’s regime has shut down the country’s internet nationwide in the middle of war – placing civilians in the crosshairs.

Canada and Australia leaders urge war de-escalation but agree Iran can’t get nuclear weapons.

IRAN CAMPAIGN

War Secretary Hegseth says U.S., IDF on verge of “complete control” of Iranian airspace and that military campaign is “just getting started.”

Iran’s navy has been decimated and drone capabilities damaged, and its drone carrier destroyed, as the U.S. and Israel continue military strikes against Iran.

Intense Israeli strikes target Iran and Lebanon as the U.S. warns bombardment to “surge dramatically” as the U.S. struck an Iranian drone carrier at sea in its unrelenting campaign against Iran’s warships.

U.S. forces conduct precision strikes in Iran, targeting Iranian command and control facilities, air defense capabilities, missile + drone launch sites, and military airfields.

CENTCOM commander says Iran’s ballistic missile and drone attacks have dropped dramatically, adds that 30 ships have now been destroyed or sunk.

U.S. commander says U.S. forces destroyed Iran’s military space command, saying the move degraded the regime’s ability to coordinate retaliatory strikes. Some argue that the nascent space capabilities never posed a significant threat.

REGIONAL, ALLIED IMPACT OF IRAN CONFLICT

European allies rush to bolster Cyprus defenses after drones target British base.

Allies send warships to protect Europe’s southeastern edge. Italy will send a naval vessel or vessels to protect Cyprus from further Iranian attacks “in the next few days.”

The largest U.S. military hospital abroad, in Germany, halts labor and baby delivery services amid the Iran war.

The number of Iranian missiles and drones fired at Gulf countries. Statistics released by Gulf defense ministries on the number of missiles, drones, and aircraft Iran has used against them show the UAE enduring the brunt of attacks.

RUSSIA THREAT/UKRAINE WAR

What conflict in Iran means for Putin and Ukraine. In the short term, the Kremlin will probably feel emboldened to double down on its aggression, but this is unlikely to shift the dial significantly towards Russian victory in the long term.

EUROPEAN DEFENSE BUILDUP

France and Germany created a high-level nuclear steering group, marking another step toward shared European nuclear deterrence, as questions remain over the long-term reliability of the U.S. nuclear guarantee.

VENEZUELA CRISIS

U.S. and Venezuela agree to reestablish diplomatic relations in major shift after Maduro’s ouster.

DEFENSE POLITICS

Democrats condemning War Secretary Pete Hegseth after he derided media coverage of the six U.S. troops killed in war with Iran, accusing the press of focusing on fallen soldiers to make Trump “look bad.”

END of PDB

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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