The US Army surged its largest counter-drone training deployment to the Middle East during the Iran war

The US Army has surged dozens of Merops counter-drone systems to the Middle East during the Iran war. Kacper Pempel/REUTERS 2026-04-13T13:47:39.762Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. The US Army surged dozens of Merops counter-drone systems to the Middle East during the Iran war. The Army also stood up a training initiative in the region to teach soldiers how to use Merops. The efforts mark the Army's largest-ever counter-drone training deployment. AI-generated summary Summaries are generated by an AI model trained on Business Insider's articles. AI may make mistakes or provide inaccurate/incomplete information. We're unable to load that answer right now. Please try again. What is Project Eagle's mission? How does Merops compare to other systems? How are Middle East allies involved? How do AI-powered systems aid defense? What challenges do drone operators face? The US Army has set up a massive counter-drone training mission in the Middle East amid the Iran war, surging to the region systems that have extensive combat experience in Ukraine. Loading audio narration... A US defense official told Business Insider that the mission marks the Army's largest-ever counter-drone training deployment. It comes as uncrewed aircraft, which have played a major role in the Iran war, become increasingly prominent on the modern battlefield.The Army deployed the US-made Merops system, which launches a $15,000 interceptor to take down enemy drones, to the Middle East earlier in the conflict. Merops is now being operated by US soldiers at two main locations in the region, the defense official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss military developments. They declined to disclose exactly where the sites are.At one site, more than 100 US personnel are operating the system and conducting training, with more soldiers cycling through. Roughly 20 Merops complexes — each of which consists of a radar, launcher, ground control station, and interceptors — are deployed to this location. Soldiers only need a few days to get up to speed on the Merops system. Many of them have a background in air defense, specifically the use of short-range systems like the AN/TWQ-1 Avenger or FIM-92 Stinger, but this experience is not necessary to learn to use the counter-drone technology, the defense official said. The Merops system's interceptor drone launches from the bed of a pickup truck. Kacper Pempel/REUTERS The Merop system can be operated by a small crew. The interceptor drone, called the "Surveyor," is piloted with a cheap, off-the-shelf Xbox controller that US soldiers have described as easy to use. Business Insider observed NATO forces training on it in Poland last year. At the other site in a different Middle East country, between 50 and 60 US soldiers are operating around 10 Merops complexes.The Army has sent 1,000 armed and unarmed interceptors to the two locations, and it is prepared to send more, the defense official said. American forces have not yet used the system to eliminate any Iranian drones, thousands of which have been launched by Tehran at US bases and countries in the Middle East since late February. A combat-tested systemMerops, developed by the US initiative Project Eagle, is designed to intercept one-way attack drones like the Iranian Shahed.The propeller-driven Surveyor is a few feet long and can fly at over 175 mph. The weapon destroys targets by colliding with them or exploding in proximity. It uses artificial intelligence to navigate environments heavily saturated with electronic warfare. The interceptor drone can explode near its target or directly hit it to knock it out of the sky. Artur Widak/NurPhoto The system is designed to be flexible. Launchers can be fitted in the bed of a pickup truck for mobile use or staged at fixed locations.Merops has been active in Ukraine, where it has intercepted more than 1,000 Shahed-type drones launched by Russia. Last year, several NATO countries in Eastern Europe purchased and deployed the system following multiple Russian drone incursions into allied airspace. The US deployed Merops to the Middle East in early March after the start of Operation Epic Fury to help protect American forces and regional allies from Iranian drones launched in retaliation.The deployment gave the US and its allies a cheaper way to intercept Iranian Shaheds, which can cost as little as $20,000, according to estimates, without relying on multimillion-dollar surface-to-air missiles. Ukraine, which has really pioneered interceptor drone technology and tactics at scale, sent air defense specialists to the Middle East to help deal with the Iranian drone threat, which Kyiv has faced for years.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Friday that Kyiv has destroyed a number of Iranian Shaheds in multiple Middle East countries. "And in my view, this is a success," he said.