According to three persons familiar with the matter, the Biden administration planned to send Ukraine four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones that can be outfitted with Hellfire missiles for battlefield use against Russia
The sale of the General Atomics-made drones might still be rejected by Congress, according to the sources,
who also said there's a chance of a last-minute policy flip sabotaging the plan, which has been under review at the Pentagon for several weeks.
Ukraine has used a variety of smaller, shorter-range unmanned aerial systems against Russian forces since their invasion in late February. The Turkish Bayraktar-TB2 and the AeroVironment (AVAV.O) RQ-20 Puma AE are two of them.
The Gray Eagle, on the other hand, is a technological leap forward because it can fly for up to 30 hours or more depending on the mission and collect massive amounts of data for intelligence reasons. The Army's version of the popular Predator drone, the Gray Eagle, can also carry up to eight deadly Hellfire missiles.
The deal is significant because it is the first time that a sophisticated reusable US system capable of numerous deep strikes is deployed on the battlefield against Russia.
According to a US official, President Joe Biden's administration plans to notify Congress of the potential sale to Ukraine in the coming days, followed by a public announcement.
A White House official directed all questions to the Pentagon, which stated there was "nothing to announce."
According to the US official and one of the people acquainted with the situation, money from the recently authorized $40 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative has been put aside to support both the probable sale and the necessary training for the drones.
"The MQ-1C is a substantially larger aircraft, with a max take-off weight about three times that of the Bayraktar-TB2, with equivalent advantages in cargo capacity, range, and endurance," stated Vertical Flight Society drone expert Dan Gettinger.
In comparison to the Bayraktar-TB2, the MQ-1C can use a wider range of bombs. The Ukrainian Bayraktars are armed with Turkish-made MAM-L missiles that weigh roughly half as much as a Hellfire.
According to Gettinger, training on the General Atomics UAV system typically takes months, but a theoretical plan to teach experienced Ukrainian maintainers and operators in a matter of weeks has been offered in recent weeks, according to the sources.
Until Wednesday's news that Ukraine will get four HIMARS rocket systems, the Pentagon has emphasized the importance of smaller systems like Javelin anti-tank systems and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, which partners are delivering to Ukraine by truck on a daily basis.
You must be logged in to post a comment.