In the near future, Ukraine will receive several UAVs that will enhance its defense capability. We are talking about the new Bayraktar and potential four advanced reconnaissance and strike drones MQ-1C Gray Eagle.
Ukraine uses several types of small shorter-range unmanned systems against Russian troops. Among them are the AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma AE and the Turkish Bayraktar-TB2.
New Bayraktar for APU from Lithuania
The new Bayraktar for Ukraine will be handed over by Lithuania – the Lithuanians collected the necessary €6 million in three days to purchase it. And yesterday, Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas announced that he had signed an agreement with the president of the Turkish defense agency on the purchase of an attack drone for Ukraine.
Agreement was signed in ?? today with the President of the Turkish Defense Agency prof. Ismail Demir on cooperation with the Ministry of National Defense of ??. ❗️This agreement paves the way for the purchase of #Bayraktar , for which Lithuanians raised almost 6 mln. € in 3 days!pic.twitter.com/7P3sFfoxmK
— Arvydas Anušauskas (@a_anusauskas) June 1, 2022
Added [15:26]:
Turkey will give Bayraktar to Ukraine free of charge, and the money collected by the Lithuanians will go to ammunition for the drone, Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said.
It is UNBELIEVABLE but ?? just agreed to give the Bayraktar that ??gathered money for, ❗️FOR FREE❗️. It is amazing! For the gathered money we will buy the needed ammunition for the Bayraktar and the rest of money will also go for support of ??. Thank you Turkish! ??????
— Arvydas Anušauskas (@a_anusauskas) June 2, 2022
Four strike UAVs MQ-1C Gray Eagle from the USA
An equally interesting bird is the MQ-1C Gray Eagle , a medium-altitude (MALE) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) for the US Army as an upgrade of the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator. According to Reuters, the administration of US President Joe Biden plans to sell four MQ-1C Gray Eagles to Ukraine, which can be armed with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and GBU-44/B Viper Strike guided bombs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FICVPZjJWdU
The publication notes that the sale of General Atomics drones may still be blocked by Congress. In addition, there is always the risk of a last-minute political change that could derail a plan that has been under Pentagon review for weeks. But if the sale does happen, it will be of great importance and significantly strengthen the armament of Ukraine, since Gray Eagles can fly up to 30 hours, collect huge amounts of intelligence data and deliver numerous deep strikes. So he holds his fists so that the Armed Forces of Ukraine receive the Gray Eagles.
Specifications MQ-1C Gray Eagle
- Load capacity – 360 kg
- Length – 8.53 m
- Wingspan – 17 m
- Height – 2.1 m
- Maximum takeoff weight – 1,633 kg.
- Power plant – 1 aircraft engine Thielert Centurion 1.7, 165 hp (123 kW)
- Maximum speed – 309 km / h
- Endurance – 25 hours
- Practical ceiling – 8.839 m
- Armament – 4 suspension points for missiles and bombs
- Missiles – 4 AGM-114 Hellfire or 8 AIM-92 Stinger
- Bombs – 4×GBU-44/B Viper Strike
- Avionics – Radar AN/ZPY-1 STARLite
