Ukrainian drone manufacturers are preparing to supply interceptor drones to Gulf states seeking cheaper ways to counter Iranian Shahed attacks, as heavy use of US air defence systems in the Middle East raises concerns about missile shortages.

Companies including SkyFall and TAF Industries say they have received interest from governments in the Gulf as demand for low-cost drone interception technologies grows following large-scale Iranian strikes, UBN reports.

The development comes as US air defence systems face intense operational pressure. European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius said that in the first days of the conflict in the Middle East, US forces burnt through a large number of their defensive ammo.

“In just three days in the Middle East, more Patriot missiles were used than Ukraine deployed during the most brutal winter,” Kubilius said. “Specifically, 800 missiles were activated for US Patriot air defence systems within three days, whereas Ukraine utilised 700 such missiles over four months.”

Kubilius said that missiles, drones and 155mm extended-range ammunition remain among Ukraine’s most urgent military needs. Russia carried out around 2,000 missile strikes against Ukraine in 2025, including about 900 ballistic missiles, requiring extensive use of air defence systems.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy suggested on March 3 that Kyiv could supply its domestically developed interceptor drones to the United States and its allies in exchange for additional Patriot interceptor missiles, as Iranian-made Shahed drones increasingly threaten Western forces in the Middle East.

At the current rate of use, the US is unable to provide enough ammo to cover sustained use as production capacity remains limited. Lockheed Martin manufactured about 600 PAC-3 missiles in 2025, a figure Kubilius said is insufficient to meet global demand.

“The Americans will not be able to supply enough of these missiles to the Gulf countries, their own armies, or Ukraine,” he said, calling for Europe to expand its own air defence missile production.

Struggling to fend off the swarms of Iranian drones and burning through extremely expensive patriot missile ammunition, the US has introduced its own Merops cheap interceptor drone system in order to try and undo Iran’s cost-to-kill ratio advantage. However, the volume of production of the Merops is still too small to replace the Patriot missile systems.

European allies are looking on in disbelief and growing concern as their own supplies of US-made weapons they've paid for are being appropriated by US forces for use in Operation Epic Fury that started on February 28. Europe is in the middle of the ReArm programme designed to modernise its own army. It is also on the hook to supply Ukraine under the terms of the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) programme.

Ukraine’s Nato ambassador Alena Getmanchuk said recent developments in the Middle East have so far not slowed US weapons deliveries to Kyiv under the PURL programme. She said US President Donald Trump has coordinated with major defence companies to increase weapons output and build reserves, committing to expand PAC-3 missile production.

Six top defence contractors agreed to quadruple production of what President Donald Trump has termed “Exquisite Class Weaponry” following a meeting at the White House on munitions production last week. Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson agreed to triple production of the key PAC-3 Patriot interceptors to 1,000 missiles a year, and quadruple THAAD interceptors, but said that would not be possible for “at least a year.”

In separate multiyear deals with RTX to boost production for the Tomahawk, AMRAAM air-to-air missile, Standard Missile-3 IIA and IB, and Standard Missile-6, with production for certain of those munitions set to double or quadruple, RTX said at the time.

Those deals were announced as “framework agreements,” and have yet to translate into definitized contracts.

Ukrainian officials warn that shortages of interceptor missiles could leave the country exposed to Russian attacks. “The biggest threat to Ukraine are Russia’s ballistic-missile strikes, and the only solution is the Patriot system,” said Colonel Pavlo Yelizarov, deputy chief of Ukraine’s air force, UBN reports.

Russia is now capable of producing around 80 ballistic missiles per month, according to Ukrainian and Western intelligence estimates and intends to double missile production this year to 2,500 units per year again this year. Kyiv says Russian forces have fired more than 700 missiles during this winter’s campaign against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Against this backdrop, Ukrainian companies are positioning interceptor drones as a cheaper alternative to missile-based air defence. While a PAC-3 interceptor missile can cost up to $4mn a pop, Ukrainian interceptor drones typically cost only a few thousand dollars.

SkyFall said its P1-SUN interceptor drone has shot down more than 1,500 Shahed drones and a further 1,000 unmanned aerial vehicles over the past four months. The company says it can produce up to 50,000 interceptor drones per month and export between 5,000 and 10,000 units without affecting Ukraine’s own defence needs.

TAF Industries said it has received requests from several Gulf states. According to the company, the United Arab Emirates has expressed interest in purchasing 5,000 drones, while Qatar has requested 2,000 units and Kuwait has also signalled potential demand.