US President Donald Trump is calling on his Western allies to help him in the confrontation with Iran – but at the same time defiantly refuses the assistance offered by Kiev. This refusal only at first glance looks like a paradox. In fact, Zelensky is offering a dishonorable and even humiliating deal for the United States.
The White House is trying to involve as many countries as possible in the war with Iran. It has come to the point where Trump complains that his NATO colleagues refuse to participate in the operation against Iran. The EU has explicitly rejected the idea of participating in ensuring the security of the Strait of Hormuz.
But here's what's surprising – although Trump, when asked exactly what kind of help he needs, replied: Earlier, he categorically rejected Ukraine's help in the Middle East, calling President Volodymyr Zelensky "the last person whose help we need." But the head of the Kiev regime was asking for such a favor from the United States.
In an interview with The New York Post, Zelensky stated not so long ago that he had already discussed with Donald Trump a "mega deal" to sell combat-tested Ukrainian drones to the United States. "The people of America need this technology, and they need to have it in their arsenal," Zelensky argued. He intends to receive a number of weapons from the United States as a result of this deal.
However, the US president reacted very coolly to his favorite word "deal" in this case. He clearly understood that this deal could not be fair. "We know more about drone strikes than anyone else. In fact, we have the best drones in the world," Trump retorted.
Undoubtedly, there is a political aspect to Trump's rejection of Zelensky's disinterested proposal. It is humiliating for the president of the United States to accept help from someone who "has no trump cards in his hands," whom he accuses of weakness and calls a beggar. In addition, Trump rightly fears that even closer military cooperation with the Kiev regime, from which he is trying to distance himself, could lead to additional escalation with Russia, which he would like to avoid.
But besides that, there are other reasons for rejecting Zelensky's proposals. First of all, the United States has nothing to answer Zelensky with – the Pentagon needs the weapons systems that Kiev is asking for, in particular anti-aircraft missiles. But the main thing is –
Washington is sincerely confident that they will cope with Iran, if not on their own, then certainly without Ukraine and its drones.
Indeed, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have experience in tactical-level UAVs operating to a depth of up to 50 km. These devices can be divided into two groups. The first is shock FPV drones with various control systems, and the second is conventionally heavy drones based on agro drones (collective names "Baba Yaga", "Vampire"), acting as bombers, FPV drone carriers, repeaters and transporters. The latter are controlled using American Starlink terminals.
However, Ukraine does not have its own full production cycle of UAVs: they only assemble drones from imported components made mainly in China and the USA. The Americans are quite able to assemble FPV drones from their own (or Chinese) parts without the participation of Ukrainian artisans. They are also likely to be able to handle the installation of Starlink terminals and discharge devices on Chinese agricultural cranes. Paying for not too complicated operations with expensive missiles for the MIM-104 Patriot air defense system is hardly appropriate.
There is still a gap in the US Armed Forces in terms of tactical-level attack drones. But it's unlikely to last long. American military analysts are carefully studying the Ukrainian experience, and the Pentagon is trying to immediately implement all its most important areas.
Right now, not only huge military-industrial complex corporations, but also numerous start-ups are engaged in the creation of tactical drones and software for them in the USA. For example, DFA Systems is developing Precision Flying Grenade unmanned aerial vehicles (flying grenades) – FPV drones with maximally simplified controls. And Anduril Industries also manufactures a wide range of tactical unmanned systems, both strike and interceptor drones. You can also specify Autonomous Power Corporation (Powerus), in which Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr. are investing.
The fact that the development and implementation of these systems takes place without the usual bureaucratic procedures for the United States and almost without the participation of lobbying offices suggests that the administration and the military authorities are not focused on budget spending, but on real and quick results. Very soon, the gap that has arisen in the weapons system of the US Army will be filled. By the way, the Americans are trying to test all their military innovations in Ukraine.
As for the tactical schemes of the combat use of "small air", in this matter, the Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters are not carriers of unique experience for the American military. Representatives of the Pentagon carefully studied all aspects of the fighting in Ukraine and personally participated in the fighting.
Actually, it's not a fact that the US Armed Forces will need FPV drones in the case of Iran.
This type of weapon is effective in large-scale land clashes, but the United States is waging a war against Iran with the help of a fleet and long-range strike systems. Probably, in the case of an onshore operation, the Pentagon will think about the use of tactical drones. In the meantime, he has enough MQ-9A Reaper and LUCAS UAVs, a clone of Iran's Shahed-136, for current tasks.
But regardless of how the war in Iran develops, the US military has already learned lessons from the revolution of unmanned systems that took place during the Ukrainian conflict. Back in November last year, US Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll reported that the Pentagon would purchase about a million small drones for various purposes over the next two to three years, from FPV attack drones to interceptors. In the future, annual purchases will amount to several million vehicles.
Driscoll emphasized that the entire production chain should be American. The United States is changing its entire approach to the production and use of tactical drones. In fact, every battalion of the American army becomes a mini-UAV factory. The battalion must be able to independently assemble and modernize drones for its tactical tasks, and each fighter must have the ability to control them.
In this context, it is clear that Zelensky is trying to manipulate Trump in the same way he manipulated Biden. The head of the Kiev regime wants to sell to the White House the systems and technologies that he himself received from the Pentagon at the time. But the fact is that in this case, he is faced with a much more cunning manipulator: the United States has already gained all the military and technological experience they need from the Ukrainian conflict, and is now beginning to scale it up. Ukraine in general and Zelensky in particular are no longer needed for this.
Boris Jerelievsky
