According to inside sources, the United States plans to sell four General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle war drones to Ukraine. Much larger than the Turkish drones currently in use, they are armed with Hellfire missiles.
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[EN VIDÉO] The US Army is testing a squadron of 103 autonomous mini-drones In the United States, the Department of Defense successfully tested a group of 103 microdrones dropped from three combat aircraft. Driven by artificial intelligence, these small machines 16 centimeters long have demonstrated their ability to fly in formation and make decisions to adapt to circumstances.
One of the surprises of the war in Ukraine was the use of drone as formidable combat weapons, especially against tanks. Ukrainian fighters very successfully used everything available, from consumer drones DJI and Parrot to the suicide drone phoenix ghost. But the central element of Ukrainian equipment is the TB-2 Bayraktar produced in Turkey, at least so far.
US plans to sell four MQ-1C drones to Ukraine Gray Eagle, according to Reuters, which cites internal sources. These devices, larger than the Turkish TB-2 Bayraktar with a maximum weight three times higher, are also much more powerful. They are derived from MQ-1 Predatorand produced by General Atomics.
A drone equipped with Hellfire missiles
The autonomy of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle can exceed 30 hours and thus makes it possible to collect a lot of information on the enemy. The aircraft, with a wingspan of 17 meters, can reach a speed maximum of 309 km/h and an altitude of 8,900 meters. However, its strong point is its ability to carry, and fire, four AGM-114 Hellfires. These missilemuch more destructive than the MAM-L fired by Turkish drones, weigh more than double (45 kg against 22 kg for the MAM-L).
The President is expected to inform Congress in the coming days, which could still block the sale. Ukrainians will then have to learn the operation and maintenance of drones. According to these same sources, a training program has been proposed which should last a few weeks.
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