The U.S. has deployed a Ukrainian anti-UAV system at an airport in Saudi Arabia, following significant damage to the base from an Iranian attack, according to Reuters.

Reuters reported on April 22, citing five sources familiar with the situation, that the U.S. military has "deployed the Sky Map air defense command system" at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia in recent weeks. Ukrainian military officials have also visited the Prince Sultan base to train U.S. troops on the technology.

Sky Map is a product of Sky Fortress, a company founded by Ukrainian engineers in 2022, with the goal of becoming a specialized software platform for coordinating efforts to intercept enemy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The system is capable of synthesizing data from radars and sensors to detect approaching threats.

An E-3 early warning aircraft was hit at Prince Sultan Air Base in a photo released on March 29. Photo: Reuters

Three sources familiar with the matter said that Sky Map is currently the main command system of the Ukrainian military, widely used to detect UAV threats and launch interceptor drones.

This is just one of several new anti-UAV technologies being deployed at Prince Sultan Air Base since the conflict erupted in the Middle East. In addition, there is the Merops interceptor drone developed by the US-based company Project Eagle.


Sources revealed that US forces encountered some challenges during initial testing, when a Merops aircraft lost control and crashed into a restroom area at the base.

CENTCOM, the agency responsible for US military operations in the Middle East, and Sky Fortress declined to comment. The Ukrainian President's office has not yet commented.

Prince Sultan Air Base has suffered numerous missile and drone attacks from Iran during the conflict. An E-3 Sentry early warning aircraft was completely destroyed and another damaged in the March 27 attack; several KC-135 refueling aircraft also sustained losses.

Satellite images taken by Airbus and published by CNN earlier this month showed the AN/TPY-2 surveillance radar, costing hundreds of millions of dollars and considered the "eye" of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, also blackened after an Iranian attack.

Components of the AN/TPY-2 radar at Prince Sultan Air Base on March 29. Photo: Airbus

The Pentagon has stepped up investment in anti-UAV technology after this weapon demonstrated superiority in the Ukraine conflict. However, information about the Sky Map system deployed at Prince Sultan Air Base has revealed weaknesses in the US air defense network.

"The US air defense systems deployed around the world have long had many gaps. This is a well-understood problem, but there is still no solution," said Timothy Walton, an expert at the Hudson Institute in the US.

Information also shows that the Ukrainian military has made significant progress in the field of drones and anti-drone systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had offered US assistance in countering Iranian UAVs during the conflict, but his counterpart Donald Trump refused.