Deploy combat-tested drones; the U.S. military reduces the cost of striking Iran | Intercept drones | Missile defense system | The Epoch Times

The U.S. Army is shipping 10,000 Merops intercept drones, battle-tested on the Russia–Ukraine battlefield, to the Middle East to avoid relying on high-cost missile defense systems.

“Deploying combat-proven drones, the U”

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The move also aims to strike Iranian drone and missile attacks at a lower cost, according to U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.

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Driscoll said the Merops drone was developed by the defense project Project Eagle, supported by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and was delivered to Ukraine in 2024.

Each Merops unit costs about $14,000 to $15,000, and larger orders could drop to $3,000 to $5,000, cheaper than Iran’s Shahed drones, which cost at least $20,000.

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Widely deploying Merops could fundamentally change the strategic calculations of the U.S.–Israel coalition.

“Deploying combat-proven drones, the U”

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If the coalition can only rely on high-cost Patriot and THAAD air defenses to intercept Iranian drones and ballistic missiles, the missile cost per shot could reach as high as $4 million.

For every Iranian-launched drone shot down, Iran would suffer heavy losses.

Beyond Merops, the U.S. military has long deployed counter-UAV capabilities such as RTX’s Jackal intercept drone and Perennial Autonomy’s Bumblebees quadcopters, which have been battlefield-tested in Ukraine.

In January, the Pentagon’s Joint Interagency Task Force 401 purchased the Bumblebees system under a $5.2 million contract, and 401 Task Force’s main mission is to develop, procure, and rapidly deploy counter-UAV capabilities.

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