UK fighter jets to get cheaper missiles to counter Iranian drones

British fighter jets in the Middle East will be equipped with new missile systems to make it cheaper to intercept Iranian drones.

Royal Air Force Typhoon jets will be fitted with an Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) to "destroy targets more precisely and at a fraction of the price of missiles currently in use", the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced.

Gulf countries and allies in the region have been grappling with how to counter Iran's Shahed drones, which are relatively cheap to make and have been causing considerable damage.

During the 2024 conflict between Israel and Iran, the UK was reported to have shot down some drones with missiles worth around £200,000 each.

Defence experts have estimated APKWS rockets used by other countries cost around $30,000 (£22,377) each. The system is already used by the US military.

This is closer to the price of the Shahed 136 long-range drone, which is estimated to cost between $20,000 to $50,000.

The Shahed, manufactured in Iran, has a slim profile which gives it the ability to fly at low altitude, making it harder to detect by radar and early warning systems that focus on the threat of missiles.

Shahed drones have been shot out of the sky by missiles fired from fighter jets or expensive surface-to-air missile systems.

A drone hit RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus in March this year causing "minimal damage", authorities said, while two more drones were intercepted days later.

The Cypriot government suspected the attack came from the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The APKWS is designed to equip unguided rockets with a laser-targeting system, which turns them into low-cost precision weapons able to take down enemy drones and other threats, the government said.

The UK government said it tested the APKWS with defence firms BAE Systems and QinetiQ to "deploy this system in a matter of months".

It "will help the RAF shoot down many more drones at a much lower cost," Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard said.

Separately, Qatar has sought to purchase 10,000 APKWS units from the US to strengthen its defences in recent months.

Since the outbreak of the war, Iran has fired ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, targeting Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

The UAE says it has intercepted more than 2,000 drones, 438 ballistic missiles and 19 cruise missiles since the start of the conflict.