Thousands of Cheap Iranian Drones Continue Attacking; Gulf States' Interceptor Stocks Worth Millions of Dollars Run Low

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DOHA — On the fifth day, the war between Iran and the Israel-US coalition shows no signs of ending. The confrontation, which has already claimed more than a thousand lives, is being seen as transforming into an attritional war (stock depletion). NDTV reported that the coalition’s air defence effectiveness is shadowed by a crisis in interceptor missiles due to waves of attacks by cheap drones launched by Tehran in large numbers. Internal reports seen by Bloomberg show a stark economic imbalance in the war. The US-made Patriot air defence system has recorded intercept success rates above 90 percent. Nevertheless, the use of missiles costing 4 million USD to bring down Shahed-136 drones, which cost only 20,000 USD, is beginning to drain the resources of Gulf states. Internal analysis shows that Qatar’s Patriot interceptor stock is expected to last only four days if the current level of attacks continues. Although the Qatar International Media Office denies stock depletion, Doha privately continues to press for an end to the conflict. ‘This attrition strategy makes operational sense from Iran’s perspective,’ said Kelly Grieco, a specialist at the Stimson Center. ‘They calculate that the defenders will exhaust their interceptors, which would then trigger political pressure on the US and Israel to halt operations.’