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Iran’s aerial assault on Arab Gulf states—now in its third week—has been dominated by waves of Shahed drones, which are cheaper and easier to mass produce than the ballistic missiles Tehran has also launched. So much so that data released by several Gulf states indicate they have thus far faced roughly three Iranian drones for every ballistic missile.

Ukraine, which has been dealing with similar drones from Russia over four years of war, is looking to cash in on that experience—in terms of earning both goodwill and actual investment by dispatching teams of experts to the Middle East and fielding requests to its companies making counterdrone technology.

Iran’s aerial assault on Arab Gulf states—now in its third week—has been dominated by waves of Shahed drones, which are cheaper and easier to mass produce than the ballistic missiles Tehran has also launched. So much so that data released by several Gulf states indicate they have thus far faced roughly three Iranian drones for every ballistic missile.

Ukraine, which has been dealing with similar drones from Russia over four years of war, is looking to cash in on that experience—in terms of earning both goodwill and actual investment by dispatching teams of experts to the Middle East and fielding requests to its companies making counterdrone technology.

But the golden opportunity may be less within reach than it seems, with experts cautioning that technical constraints as well as political and strategic concerns might dampen what might otherwise be Kyiv’s time to shine.

Iran’s Shahed drones have plagued U.S. forces and the Gulf since the start of the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in February. The drones, which are estimated to cost between $20,000 and $50,000 depending on the model, have slipped past air defenses to kill and wound U.S. forces, destroy expensive radar systems, and damage civilian and economic targets across the Middle East.

“We are seeing missiles targeting airports, we are seeing drones targeting apartment buildings, we’re seeing debris falling on individuals driving on a motorway,” Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic advisor to the president of the United Arab Emirates, said at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday, just a day after a drone struck a fuel tank at Dubai’s international airport and forced several flights to be rerouted.

Gargash revealed that the UAE had faced over 2,000 projectiles—the vast majority of them drones—since the start of the conflict a little over two weeks ago. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have also reported being targeted by hundreds of........

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