Gulf States' Counter-Drone Defense Market Tops $5 Billion
Since the war with Iran began, the value of counter-drone defense system contracts signed or approved by Gulf states with defense contractors has surpassed $5 billion (about 6.8 trillion won) as of the 15th (local time). The cost burden of the existing approach — blocking cheap Iranian drones with expensive interceptor missiles — has driven Gulf states to seek out new defense systems.
Gulf states have spent $50 billion (about 68 trillion won) on advanced air defenses over the past decades, but legacy systems like the Patriot missile or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) are optimized to intercept ballistic missiles. By contrast, Iran's 'Shahed' drones fly slowly but at low altitudes to evade radar, change course mid-flight, and swarm in from unexpected angles — making them difficult to stop with existing air defense networks alone.
The cost structure is also a problem. A single Shahed costs a mere $30,000 (about 40 million won), but the latest Patriot PAC-3 missile used to intercept it costs more than $4 million (about 5.4 billion won) apiece. The US and its Gulf allies are estimated to have fired more than 2,500 PAC-3 missiles during the war, worth at least $10 billion (about 13.6 trillion won). Some countries even launched Apache attack helicopters to shoot down drones with machine guns.
Gulf states also want joint production beyond simple purchases. "Gulf states no longer want to remain just customers," said Professor Krieg. "Building their own supply chains through joint ventures is strategically the most important thing." After failing to receive high-cost interceptor missiles from the West in a timely manner, Saudi Arabia and others have turned to Turkey's Baykar.
The Trump administration is pushing to sell counter-drone defense systems to the Gulf region. A $2 billion (about 2.7 trillion won) deal to send Anduril's counter-drone systems to Kuwait has already been approved. President Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is known to be a partner at an investment firm that has invested in Anduril.
