Drone Sale Adding Fuel to the Fire, Russia Says

The Biden Administration is making ready to sell four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones to Ukraine.

The move would supplement Ukraine’s existing drone fleet, which comprises primarily Turkish, Bayraktar-TB2 units. The MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones, which can remain aloft for over thirty-hours, are capable of carrying up to eight Hellfire missiles, which are double the weight of the munitions with which the Bayraktar-TB2 can be armed. 

Drone expert Dan Gettinger of the nonprofit Vertical Flight Society states, "Generally the MQ-1C is a much larger aircraft with a max take-off weight around three times that of the Bayraktar-TB2, with commensurate advantages in payload capacity, range, and endurance." 

According to Gettinger, training on the General Atomics-made, MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones is a complex process that ordinarily takes several months. However, individuals within the Biden Administration claim a training regimen has been proposed that could accelerate training time to just a few weeks. 

The sale of the drones has been under review at the Pentagon for numerous weeks and it could still be blocked by a Congress ostensibly more circumspect than the Commander in Chief. 

Last month, Biden announced that the U.S. is sending "more advanced rocket systems and munitions to Ukraine,” a move that Russia characterized as "adding fuel to the fire." 

FMI: www.ga.com