According to the U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, the U.S. Army has deployed 10,000 “Merops” interceptor drones to the Middle East, which have undergone real-world testing on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield. This deployment aims to avoid using expensive missile defense systems to combat Iranian drones and missile attacks at a lower cost.
Driscoll revealed, as reported by Bloomberg, that within five days after the U.S.-Israel joint military operation against Iran on February 28, these drones were already on the battlefield.
The “Merops” drones, developed under the defense project “Project Eagle” supported by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, were delivered to Ukraine in 2024 at a cost of around $14,000 to $15,000 each. With larger orders, the cost per drone could drop to $3,000 to $5,000, making them cheaper than Iran’s “Shahed” drones, which cost at least $20,000 each. Therefore, every Iranian drone shot down by the U.S.-Israel coalition will inflict heavy losses on Iran.
The extensive use of “Merops” drones could fundamentally reshape the strategic considerations of the U.S.-Israel coalition. Relying solely on the expensive “Patriot” and “THAAD” missile defense systems to intercept Iranian drones and ballistic missiles could cost up to $4 million per missile.
The U.S. military has been deploying a range of anti-drone capabilities against Iran, including RTX’s “Coyote” interceptor drones. In addition, the U.S. Army has also deployed “Bumblebees,” quadcopter drones manufactured by Perennial Autonomy, equipped with explosives to track and destroy enemy drones. These drones have undergone real-world testing in Ukraine and are primarily used for attacking moving targets.
In January of this year, the U.S. Army purchased the “Bumblebees” system through the newly established Joint Interagency Task Force 401 at a cost of $5.2 million under a small contract. The main mission of Task Force 401 is to develop, procure, and rapidly deploy anti-drone system capabilities.