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Ukraine’s counter-drone tech has surging interest amid Iran attacks, but exports are limited.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
A Ukrainian interceptor drone maker said it wants its tech proven beyond Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
It worries that if it doesn’t get involved soon, “someone will take our place.”<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Iran war could be a big opportunity for Ukraine’s battle-proven counter-drone tech<\/a>, but one company says it worries it will miss its window without export access.<\/p>\n The US and its allies in the Middle East are now facing drone threats that Ukraine has fought<\/a> for years, driving demand<\/a> for low-cost interceptor drones. Many are built by Ukrainian firms, but exports of battlefield tech remain tightly controlled.<\/p>\n Stanislav Hryshyn, the co-founder of Ukrainian company General Cherry, which makes drones and interceptor drones used by Ukraine’s forces, said deploying his company’s interceptors abroad would give it the chance to prove that its interceptors work in conflicts other than Russia’s war against Ukraine.<\/p>\n Hryshyn said the company has seen a surge in interest and inquiries since the Iran war began and Tehran started firing Shahed drones and missiles<\/a> at US allies. Other firms report similar demand, especially in the Middle East and Europe. But Ukraine’s export rules prevent many defense tech sales abroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n He said his desire to help isn’t only about the business that could come with selling his gear for use in the war. It’s also about gaining “this new level of expertise and experience” that Ukrainian companies have not had before.<\/p>\n “For us to receive this new experience, expertise, new layer of using our product, that’s critical,” he said. “Money is very secondary to this.”<\/p>\n It’s one thing to prove effective against Russia. It’s another to prove it in a different war \u2014 and directly support US allies.<\/p>\n But without fast access to those markets, he warned, Ukraine’s industry could lose its edge. “This window of change is closing right now,” he said. “Someone will take our place.”<\/p>\n A host of companies outside of Ukraine are also making interceptor drones. Hryshyn fears delays will let foreign firms scale faster, pushing partners toward non-Ukrainian suppliers with ready stock.<\/p>\n The war with Iran is showing that interceptor drones are “now very critical, not just for Ukraine, but also for other countries as well,” Hryshyn said. Iran and Russia’s actions mean “the Pandora’s box is open” to new and widespread drone threats.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n