Days before Israel launched a sweeping air assault on Iran, dramatically escalating regional tensions, the US quietly diverted critical anti-drone munitions from Ukraine to its forces in the Middle East.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the US redirected proximity fuzes and other components of the APKWS II air defense system to CENTCOM, which oversees military operations across Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the Red Sea.

“We’re going to surge counter-UAS systems to our troops and bases first if we believe there’s a threat,” Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.

What was diverted?

The system in question is the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) — a guidance kit that converts standard 70 mm unguided rockets into laser-guided munitions. Developed by BAE Systems and used by the US Navy, Air Force, Army, and Marines, it delivers precision at a relatively low cost — roughly $25,000 per round.

The War Zone reports that the diversion included not only APKWS rockets but also specialized proximity fuzes, enabling aerial detonations near small drones. According to TWZ, Defense Secretary Hegseth approved the transfer via a memo to the Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell, labeling it an “urgent” requirement for CENTCOM.

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Where APKWS works

APKWS II is compatible with a wide range of US and allied platforms, including:

• F-16C/D Viper
• F-15E Strike Eagle
• A-10 Thunderbolt II
• AH-64 Apache
• AH-1Z Viper, UH-1Y Venom
• MH-60R/S Seahawks
• VAMPIRE launchers, as used in Ukraine

Originally designed for ground attack, APKWS has been adapted for counter-drone and even air-to-air roles. Its modularity allows rapid integration, and with proximity fuzes — like those just redirected — it’s proven effective against drones and low-flying cruise missiles.

Why it matters

• For Ukraine: APKWS, fielded via VAMPIRE systems since late 2023, has been crucial for defending against Shahed-136 drone swarms. But now, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told ABC News that 20,000 “anti-Shahed” rockets — understood to be APKWS-equipped rounds — are being withheld, creating a serious gap in Ukraine’s air defenses.
• For US Forces: F-15E and F-16 aircraft deployed in the CENTCOM region now carry APKWS pods alongside traditional missiles. Jets operating from Jordan have been outfitted with six seven-shot rocket pods, offering up to 50 drone engagements per sortie — a loadout first tested against Houthi drones over the Red Sea.

Stockpiles and uncertainty

The Pentagon has not disclosed how many APKWS kits or fuzes were diverted or remain in stock. Asked about the possibility of resupplying Ukraine, Hegseth said:

“We’d have to review the capacity… We’ve created some challenges in other places.”

There is also no confirmation whether additional systems — including VAMPIRE launchers or electronic warfare assets — were reallocated.

Regional flashpoint—Israel strikes Iran

Amid this arms shift, Israel today launched Operation Rising Lion, a massive air campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear sites, military infrastructure, and senior leadership.

• Over 200 Israeli aircraft struck dozens of high-value sites, including facilities in Natanz and Tehran.
• Major General Mohammad Bagheri and IRGC Commander Hossein Salami were reportedly killed.
• In retaliation, Iran launched more than 100 drones, triggering widespread airspace closures across Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Israel.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the drones included Shahed-129 and Shahed-136 models, both long-range loitering munitions designed for precision strikes.

Expert analysis: A strategic pivot

Ukrainian defense expert Kyrylo Danylchenko commented that the diversion of US anti-drone munitions was directly linked to preparations for an Iranian response.

“Over 300 strikes hit 100 targets overnight. Iran’s air defense was suppressed; bunker-busting bombs were used. Israel neutralized IRGC commanders responsible for Shahed operations against Ukraine,” Danylchenko wrote on Facebook.

He noted that Iran’s Shahed production lines were likely targeted, and that Israel may continue its strikes for up to two weeks if diplomatic efforts fail, exploiting what he called a rare “window of regional vulnerability.”

Bottom line

The diversion of APKWS to the Middle East — just before a major regional conflict erupted — highlights a sharp shift in US strategic priorities. A system once intended to protect Ukrainian cities is now deployed to defend against a rapidly expanding confrontation with Iran.

Whether Ukraine gets resupplied — or left exposed — is still an open question.

Two years ago, Russian troops began wrapping their armored vehicles in shell-like layers of add-on armor—all in a desperate effort to protect the vehicles from Ukrainian drones. The Ukrainians gave these up-armored vehicles a name—“turtle tank”—and got to work destroying them with better-aimed and more powerful drones.

So now the Russians are trying a new kind of protection. Instead of welding shells around their vehicles, they equipped at least one BMP infantry fighting vehicle with long metal bristles they clearly hoped would detonate incoming first-person-view drones before they struck the vehicle’s hull. 

It wasn’t a turtle tank. It was a porcupine.

But the porcupine vehicle failed its very first test. The Birds of Magyar, an elite Ukrainian drone unit, hunted down the modified BMP during a Russian assault toward Troitske, a town just north of Bahatyr in Donetsk Oblast, on or just before Saturday. 

The immobilized vehicle burned … and then exploded. “Badaboom!” a Birds of Magyar member crowed as he narrated a video—captured by a Ukrainian surveillance drone—depicting the BMP’s fiery demise. (Go to the 4:25 mark in the video to see for yourself.)

Tiny FPV drones are everywhere all the time all along the 1100-kilometer front line of Russia’s 39-month wider war on Ukraine. The Russian and Ukrainian militaries each deploy millions of drones every year. Both sides try to defeat the other’s drone with radio-jamming or add-on armor—or by finding and striking the operators … or even the factories that build the lethal robots.

Counter-drone innovations can seem awkward in their first iterations. The anti-drone cages the Russians began bolting onto many vehicles as early as the first year of the wider war, which the Ukrainians derisively called “cope cages,” are now standard equipment on vehicles on both sides.

Turtle tanks are funny-looking, but that doesn’t mean they don’t sometimes work. Examples abound of the reinforced vehicles shrugging off multiple drones.

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Russian troops are hiding from Ukraine’s deadly night-vision drones—but not well enough

Silly armor

The porcupine armor may seem silly on its face, and it didn’t save that BMP from an explosive fate. But the vehicle’s destruction may not be the fault of the metal spines. 

Instead, it seems the Birds of Magyar drone operator flew an FPV into the Russian vehicle’s hatch after a crew member left it open, perhaps while abandoning the vehicle after it was immobilized, potentially by a strike from below. Every vehicle is liable to burn when struck on its fragile insides—regardless of how effective its external armor is.

So it’s possible the porcupine armor will show up on more Russian vehicles. And it’s possible it might actually work as long as crews can avoid a mobility kill—mine damage to their treads, for example—and keep their hatches shut. It’s even possible other armies will eventually copy the porcupine armor the way they copied the cope cages.

And it’s worth pointing out that the porcupine BMP’s destruction didn’t prevent the Russians from advancing. Russian regiments and brigades advanced northeast of Troitske on or just before Saturday, according to the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies. 

It’s not that the Ukrainian brigades in the area are collapsing. Indeed, they counterattacked in Bahatyr at the same time the Russians were attacking around Troitske.

But despite losing around 800,000 troops and 17,000 armored vehicles in more than three years of hard fighting, and despite scrambling for better anti-drone defenses, Russian forces still outnumber and outgun Ukrainian forces.

The Russians can afford to lose more troops and vehicles than the Ukrainians can afford to lose. For now, they can afford to exchange a lot of hardware, and a lot of bodies, for incremental territorial gains.

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Ukraine found a way to beat Russia’s unjammable drones. It doesn’t work anymore.

Fishing nets once discarded by Nordic fishermen are now protecting Ukrainian soldiers from drone attacks. YLE reports that old fishing nets from Sweden and Denmark are being installed above trenches and shelter entrances to slow or neutralize falling explosives and disrupt Russian drone operations. The unconventional method has proven useful as drones play an increasingly central role in modern warfare.

According to YLE, as one of the responses to drone threats, Ukraine has begun deploying old Nordic fishing nets to interfere with these airborne threats.

Danish fishing nets, rendered unusable after Brexit barred Danish fishing in UK waters, have been donated to Ukraine in large volumes. YLE notes that a March report indicates that Denmark alone has provided nets worth approximately €2.5 million.

Anti-drone cages appear on Ukrainian Mavic UAVs

Additional significant donations have come from private individuals. Bernard Christensen, a member of a Polish-Ukrainian aid organization, told Sweden’s SVT:

“All kinds of nets are extremely useful. Ukrainians are resourceful and find a use for every net we can get to them.”

The nets are effective in delaying the detonation of aerial explosives and stopping drones before they reach their targets. Also, drone propellers sometimes get entangled in the netting, preventing drones from completing their mission.

Russia also adopting similar methods

Ukraine is not the only one utilizing such unconventional tactics. Russian troops are also deploying fishing nets to cover entire roads and protect logistics routes.