As of 22 April 2026, the United States military has deployed a Ukrainian-developed command and control platform named Sky Map to Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Sky Map was developed in 2022 by the Ukrainian company Sky Fortress with funding from the Brave 1 initiative.
Sky Map System
Sky Map is a counter-drone platform used by the Ukrainian military to detect incoming aerial threats, including Iranian-developed Shahed drones. The system combines radar inputs with data from a network of more than 10,000 acoustic sensors across Ukraine. It presents information on a dashboard with maps and video feeds for threat tracking and coordination of counter-drone action.
Deployment at Prince Sultan Air Base
Prince Sultan Air Base is a United States military facility in Saudi Arabia that has faced attacks by Iranian drone swarms in the past. Those attacks destroyed aircraft and buildings and caused at least one service member fatality. Ukrainian military officials have arrived at the base in recent weeks to train United States warfighters on the Sky Map system.
US Counter-Drone Measures
The Pentagon’s counter-drone unit, Joint Interagency Task Force 401, committed $350 million last month under Operation Epic Fury for drone defence upgrades. The package includes sensors, cameras, and interceptors for air defence use. Other systems under test at Prince Sultan Air Base include Merops Interceptors from Project Eagle and Coyote systems from RTX.
Related Strategic Context
The use of Sky Map in Saudi Arabia is a rare case of the United States using technology developed in the Russia-Ukraine war in another theatre. Former United States President Donald Trump rejected an offer from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 6 March to help counter Iranian drones.
Last Modified: April 23, 2026