L’Arabia Saudita è in trattative per acquistare attrezzature di difesa aerea dall’Ucraina

Updated 2026-03-10 18:27 ET / Original 2026-03-10 18:27 ET

Saudi Arabia is set to buy a large order of Ukrainian air-defense equipment, as it and other Gulf countries face attacks from the same type of drones that Kyiv has been battling for years.

The Gulf state is negotiating to buy so-called interceptor drones and electronic warfare, according to two people familiar with the matter. The deal could be worth millions of dollars but has yet to be signed, they said.

The U.S. and Gulf nations have sometimes struggled to down Iran’s Shahed drones, which they have often done with expensive missiles.

In its own fight against Russian Shahed drones, Ukraine uses a range of different air defenses beyond missiles. The approach includes so-called interceptor drones, which smash into or explode next to an adversary’s unmanned vehicle. Ukraine has also successfully used electronic warfare, which jams the communication signals of a drone.

Officials from Gulf nations, including Qatar, have also been in Ukraine looking at counter-drone technology. The U.S. has sent Merops, a drone interceptor used widely in Ukraine, to its forces in the Gulf.