US deploys Ukraine-tested Merops anti-drone system to Middle East to counter Iranian threats

• US to deploy Merops, an anti-drone system proven effective against Russian drones in Ukraine, to the Middle East.
• The deployment aims to strengthen defenses against Iranian drones amid escalating regional tensions and recent US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
• Merops is an AI-powered system that uses drones to intercept hostile drones, designed to counter inexpensive but hard-to-detect Iranian Shahed drones.
• Traditional missile defense systems struggle with drones, and intercepting cheap drones with expensive missiles is economically unsustainable.
• The system was previously deployed to NATO countries Poland and Romania and is manufactured by Perennial Autonomy.