As the Donald Trump administration expressed its intent to continue strikes against Iran, concerns are being raised that war expense could snowball as the United States uses expensive missiles to intercept Iran's cheap drones.
On the 4th, The New York Times (NYT) reported, "Iran is carrying out precision attacks in the Middle East using inexpensive drones," adding, "The United States and its allies also have air-defense systems capable of intercepting most of Iran's ballistic missiles and drones, but these interceptors are very expensive because they are so sophisticated."
According to major foreign media, the price of the single-use attack drone Shahed-136 that Iran is deploying against U.S. military bases and other targets in the Middle East ranges from at least $20,000 (about 29 million won) to as much as $50,000 (about 73 million won). With a triangular body and a length of about 3 meters, the Shahed drone flies at low altitude to strike targets while carrying about 36 kilograms of explosives in its warhead. Iran supplied this drone to Russia, and its effectiveness was proven in the Ukraine war.
Stacie Pettyjohn, a senior fellow at the Washington think tank Center for a New American Security, explained that the long-range version of the Shahed drone, the Shahed-136, can fly about 1,900 kilometers and strike targets across the Middle East. In fact, right after being attacked by the United States and Israel, Iran sent Shahed drones to neighboring countries, and the Fairmont hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), was damaged by a drone explosion.
By contrast, the price of a Patriot (PAC-3) missile that the United States uses to intercept Shahed drones reaches about $3 million to $4 million (about 4.4 billion won to 5.9 billion won) per round. Even if the Patriot boasts a hit rate of over 90%, some note that if Iranian drones are deployed in large numbers, the interceptors needed for defense could be rapidly depleted, shaking the sustainability of the defense system.
Arthur Erickson, CEO of the Texas drone manufacturer Hylio, said, "It is clearly more expensive to shoot down a drone than to put one in the air," adding, "In the end, this is about money. The expense ratio to intercept a single drone is conservatively about 10 to 1."
The Shahed drone is assessed as a weapon that is inexpensive yet highly useful militarily. Bloomberg News previously said, "The Shahed drone is small and easy to conceal," adding, "While the United States and Israel are focused on tracking Iran's ballistic missile storage facilities and launchers, trucks carrying drones are more likely to slip through surveillance and can be used more effectively as a means of attack."
Of course, the United States is also leveraging drone technology. A representative example is the "Coyote" (small drone) from the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon, which launches drones that track and destroy other drones. However, according to a Center for a New American Security report, this drone also costs about $126,500 (about 190 million won) per unit, which is cheaper than a Patriot missile but at least six times more expensive than a Shahed drone.
The United States also has other ways to neutralize drone attacks. According to the NYT, the U.S. military has equipment that jams the radio frequencies controlling navigation systems, as well as devices that use microwaves and lasers to disable drones or knock them off course. However, while these systems are cheaper than interceptors, they are known to have inconsistent success rates or to cause major disruptions to civilian life.