US to send anti-drone system to the Mideast, officials say
AP News • • world
Key Points:
- The U.S. is deploying the Merops anti-drone system, proven effective against Russian drones in Ukraine, to the Middle East to enhance defenses against Iranian drones, which have been challenging to counter with existing missile systems like Patriot and THAAD.
- Merops uses artificial intelligence to detect and intercept drones, flying drones against drones, and is cost-effective compared to expensive missile interceptors, addressing the high cost of shooting down cheap Iranian drones.
- The deployment reflects concerns over Iran’s retaliatory drone and missile attacks in the Persian Gulf region, which have caught local countries off guard and exposed vulnerabilities in U.S. defenses.
- Merops has already been deployed in NATO countries like Poland and Romania to counter Russian drones, and the U
