Ukraine sending drone team to help protect US bases in Jordan at Washington’s request, Zelenskyy says

Ukraine has dispatched interceptor drones and a team of drone specialists to help protect U.S. military bases in Jordan as fighting tied to the Iran war intensifies across the region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with The New York Times. Zelenskyy told the NYT that Washington made the request on Thursday, and Kyiv moved swiftly to respond, dispatching the drone team the following day. "We reacted immediately," Zelenskyy said. "I said, yes, of course, we will send our experts." The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for confirmation. Iran PROXIES WAGE WAR ON ISRAEL, THREATEN US INTERESTS AS Iraq SLAMMED FOR NOT DISARMING THEM The reported request comes as the U.S. and Gulf states work to intercept hundreds of Iranian missiles and thousands of drones launched in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian drones have struck the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, including an attack on a tactical operations center in Kuwait that killed six U.S. service members. The high volume of Iranian Shahed drone launches has drawn attention to the cost disparity between the relatively inexpensive unmanned aircraft and the far more sophisticated air defense systems, such as Patriot missiles, used to intercept them. PETRAEUS CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA OVER ALLEGED INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT TO Iran According to the Department of the Army's Fiscal Year 2026 budget estimates, the cost for a single Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptor is $3.8 million. A basic Iranian-designed Shahed drone costs roughly $20,000 to $50,000, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). CENTCOM ISSUES SAFETY WARNING TO IRANIAN CIVILIANS AS REGIME USES ‘HEAVILY POPULATED’ AREAS FOR LAUNCHES "Iran knows it can’t match the U.S. or Gulf states plane for plane or missile for missile, but it can change the economics of the conflict," said Patrycja Bazylczyk, an associate director with the Missile Defense Project at CSIS, in an interview with Military Times. "Drones let Iran punch above its weight, keep its adversaries off balance, and project power across the region at minimal cost. We can’t just play whack-a-mole in the sky," she added. "Shooting drones down one by one is the most expensive way to fight the cheapest threat. We have to go after the roots – the launch sites, the production lines, and the storage depots."