UAE spent $1bn a day downing missiles and drones, analysts say

• Estimated spend in first 48 hours
• Hundreds of interceptions reported
• Stockpiles likely to be enhanced

The UAE spent an estimated $1 billion a day shooting down drones and missiles in the first 48 hours of the conflict in the Gulf, according to analysts.

The strikes from Tehran, which began after Iran was attacked by the US and Israel on Saturday, have highlighted the cost of protecting a country seen as a safe haven – and a region that is central to global energy security, supplying roughly a fifth of the world’s oil.

On Tuesday the UAE Ministry of Defence said it had intercepted 172 ballistic missiles, eight cruise missiles and 755 drones so far, reporting limited major damage. However, debris has caused significant disruption around important sites including airports and ports.

A ministry spokesperson told a press conference that the UAE had strategic reserves of air defence systems capable of countering aerial threats for a prolonged period. He added that the UAE would not accept any infringement on its sovereignty or the safety of its territory. 

The ministry has been contacted for further comment.

Reuters/Abdelhadi Ramahi

Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center, a global affairs think tank in Washington, put the total defence bill at roughly $2 billion and called it a reasonable figure given the scale of the assault. 

“US-made air and missile defence systems like the Patriot are quite effective, but that effectiveness does not come cheap,” she told AGBI.

The UAE’s air defence includes Patriot interceptors that track and destroy incoming missiles in flight and the Thaad system, which operates at higher altitude at very high speed, which is why the sonic boom of interceptions can be heard over long distances.

For ballistic missiles, the defence “options are limited”, Grieco said – leaving the world reliant on the Patriot interceptors made by US contractor Lockheed Martin, which cost $4 million to $5 million per shot.

Two shots are typically fired per incoming missile. On that basis, destroying 150 ballistic missiles would cost more than $1 billion, Grieco said.

The drone defence bill is lower per engagement, but punishing at scale. 

Grieco estimates the UAE spent between $253 million and $759 million to bring down about 500 drones. This is based on costs ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million per interception.

Iran’s spending on strikes against the UAE is estimated at $177 million to $360 million. For every $1 Tehran spent on drones, Abu Dhabi spent roughly $20 to $28 shooting them down, Grieco said.

However, this is “not new money”, said Monika Marks, an assistant professor at New York University Abu Dhabi.

“It’s paid for – and that’s what it was there for. Additional future costs are going to be incurred by enhancing the stockpile.”

Patriot interceptors are in high demand from Nato member states, Ukraine and Taiwan as well as US forces, according to Grieco. 

Lockheed has announced plans to triple Patriot production from around 600 to 2,000 a year, but the ramp-up will take seven years, she said.

The company’s CEO Jim Taiclet told investors last year that its missile defence systems may have helped to prevent “a hot war in the Middle East” after Tehran struck a US airbase in Qatar in June 2025.

Marks said the UAE – a $500 billion economy – and other Gulf states had “almost certainly” built stockpiles after previous strikes in the region.

“Iran has posed significant threats to Gulf countries before,” she said. “It would have almost assuredly spurred an increase in defensive stockpiling.”