Ukraine-Russia war: US planning on selling powerful drones to aid Kyiv in fight: report

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The Biden administration is planning on selling four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones – which are capable of carrying powerful Hellfire missiles – to Ukraine to help the country fight Russia, a report says.

The move would provide a military boost to Ukraine in the war, which so far has been using drones like the Turkish Bayraktar-TB2, according to Reuters. The MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones can fly more than 30 hours per mission and carry eight Hellfire missiles, which are double the weight of the munitions that the Bayraktar-TB2 operates with, the news agency adds.

“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,” drone expert Dan Gettinger of the nonprofit Vertical Flight Society told Reuters.

Gettinger also said training on the General Atomics-made drones usually takes several months.

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But three people familiar with the Biden administration’s plans told Reuters that a training regimen has been proposed that could get Ukraine’s military up to speed on how to use the drones in only a few weeks.

The sources added that the sale of the drones has been under review at the Pentagon for numerous weeks and it could still be blocked by Congress.

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One U.S official told Reuters that Biden’s administration will notify Congress of the potential sale of the drones in the coming days, followed by a public announcement.

Biden earlier this week 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.”