The Pentagon has deployed Sky Map, a Ukrainian command-and-control platform, at Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB) in Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported April 22, citing five people with knowledge of the matter. Ukrainian military personnel arrived at the base in recent weeks to train U.S. warfighters on the system.
The US military has reportedly begun using Ukrainian counter-drone technology, called Sky Map, at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia to defend against repeated drone and missile attacks. pic.twitter.com/g3PqvogVDS
— Firstpost (@firstpost) April 23, 2026
The deployment came fewer than six weeks after President Donald Trump dismissed Ukraine’s offer of drone defense assistance. “No, we don’t need their help in drone defense,” Trump told Fox News in March. “We know more about drones than anybody.”
Sky Map, developed by Kyiv-based Sky Fortress and backed by Ukraine’s Brave1 defense initiative, fuses radar, acoustic sensor, and video data into a single air operations picture. Ukrainian forces use it to detect and intercept Iranian-designed Shahed drones.
A March 27 Iranian strike destroyed a U.S. Air Force E-3G Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft, the first combat loss of that type in 47 years, and damaged multiple KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft at PSAB. At least one service member has been killed in attacks on the base, approximately 400 miles from Iran.
Timothy Walton, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said “There’s been longstanding gaps in U.S. air missile defense coverage around the world. “This has been well understood. However, it hasn’t been addressed.”
The Pentagon’s Joint Integrated Air Defense Task Force 401 (JIDF-401) is overseeing counter-drone efforts under Operation Epic Fury, a $350 million initiative. Spokesperson Adam Scher said there is “no silver bullet” capable of stopping all drone threats.
Sky Map operates alongside Northrop Grumman’s Forward Area Air Defense (FAAD) tracking software and RTX Coyote interceptors at PSAB.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed in mid-March that Ukraine had proposed a joint drone and electronic warfare partnership to Washington as early as summer 2025, but the deal remained unsigned at the time.
