US Defence Not Yet Able to Counter Iran's Shahed Drones

US defence is not yet able to counter Iran’s Shahed drones. The Atlantic reported, citing a Congressional official, that the United States’ military lacks robust capabilities to repel such drones and that there are multiple limitations in the current system. The official said that ‘the US military does not have a strong defence to counter the Shahed drone’, echoed by the report, which notes that the Pentagon leadership — including US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Cain — acknowledged gaps in the US military’s ability to deal with the unmanned aircraft. The report says Washington has historically allocated more budget to layered air-defence systems designed to counter threats from further away, such as China, while threats from Iran’s mid-range drones have not been a primary focus, leaving capabilities against drones like the Shahed-136 suboptimal.

Earlier, the report indicated that Hegseth, in a closed briefing to lawmakers, conceded that Iran’s Shahed-136 drones pose a greater challenge to US air defence than previously anticipated. The Shahed-136 is described as a one-way kamikaze drone intended to strike targets directly with explosives.

Tensions between Iran, the US, and Israel escalated starting 28 February 2026 when the US and Israel launched strikes against various targets in Iran, including Tehran. Iran retaliated with strikes on multiple locations in Israel and targeted several US military bases in the Middle East, provoking further concern about a broader Middle East confrontation.