Former U.S. officer says UAE better shielded from Iran drones than Florida

A former high-ranking U.S. military officer said the United Arab Emirates and other Middle East allies are better protected from Iranian Shahed drones by U.S. air defense systems than the state of Florida.

The comment came during a discussion of the ongoing conflict with Iran. Florida entered the conversation because of Cuba, which lies less than 90 miles from the state’s coast. The Trump administration has been seeking to end decades of communist rule on the island.

The officer asked whether Iran or another U.S. adversary has placed any Shahed attack drones on Cuba. Recent reporting showed the Pentagon increasing its drone and autonomous warfare budget from $225 million to $55 billion for fiscal year 2027. The shift reflects how cheap drones have overwhelmed costly U.S. defenses in conflicts from the Middle East to Ukraine.

More than 20 U.S. military bases in Florida, including those near Tampa that house U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, sit within potential range of Cuba. China has already placed operatives in Cuba and other parts of Central and South America. Both China and Russia are developing larger carrier drones that can launch smaller attack drones in flight, extending their range.

The Trump administration is pursuing rapid advances in drone technology, modeled in part on the Manhattan Project. The effort is driven largely by concerns over China. The Navy has shown it can shoot down Shahed-class drones, but the cost is high. Officials are examining whether the United States needs its own fleet of unmanned aircraft system carrier drones that can deliver long-range ship-killing missiles.

The Pentagon is also studying lessons from the drone war between Ukraine and Russia. Both countries have produced millions of relatively cheap but increasingly lethal attack drones. Those weapons could be launched from Cuba, Mexico or Central America, or from ships off the U.S. coast.

The United States must field effective drone countermeasures and its own modernized unmanned aircraft systems capable of carrying large JASSM missiles, the officer said. The military must become the world’s leading drone-fighting force.