The United States has sent 10,000 interceptor drones to the Middle East in an effort to defend against Iranian drone attacks, according to US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.

He said the systems were moved into the region within five days of the outbreak of the Israeli-US war with Iran on 28 February.

Officials say the interceptor drones are intended to provide a more affordable way of dealing with incoming threats, reducing reliance on far costlier missile defence systems.

Driscoll said each Merops interceptor currently carries a price tag of between $14,000 and $15,000.

Even so, that could still make them roughly twice as expensive as Iran’s Shahed-136 drones, which analyst Esfandyar Batmanghelidj has estimated cost about $7,000 each.