AeroVironment Inc. YouTubeScreenshot from AeroVironment’s Switchblade 300 video presentation.
WAR IN UKRAINE. Foreign aid to the Ukrainian army is ramping up as the Russian invasion continues for more than three weeks.
US President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday, March 16, the dispatch of about 100 drones, which “illustrates our commitment to providing Ukraine with our most advanced systems for its defense.”
According to US congressional NBC News, these could be U.S. company AeroVironment’s “Switchblade” drones, a formidable disposable weapon capable of hitting ground troops for the Switchblade 300 or destroying tanks or artillery posts for the Switchblade. 600 (see two presentation videos below).
The Switchblade is labeled as a kamikaze or suicide weapon, equipped with its own targeting system and cameras. It can be set up in minutes and run from a pipe.
According to NBC News, it can be programmed to automatically hit targets miles away and guide them until it’s time to strike. AeroVironment claims the 600 can fly for 40 minutes and up to 80 kilometers.
These Switchblade models fly much faster than the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones that Ukraine has so far used to inflict damage on the Russian military, and they are likely to penetrate its patchy air defense system.
By some estimates, the Switchblade 300 would have cost $6,000 (€5,440), a fairly modest cost for such a device in the world of weapons, and would favor rapid and mass production.
Drones are already in use in Afghanistan
On the war in Ukraine and its possible inevitable consequences, AeroVironment issued a sober press release in which it stated its position: “We support our allies and our sovereign peoples in their right to defend their homeland and their lives, even when this fundamental right is under threat.” . AeroVironment supports the people of Ukraine and all of NATO.”
The U.S. military has used the Switchblade in the past in limited combat in Afghanistan and elsewhere, but has not made the fact public, sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The UK is the only foreign country still allowed to buy the Switchblade.
Joe Biden also authorized this Wednesday the dispatch of $800 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, an “unprecedented” $1 billion package in one week, to counter a Russian invasion.
“At the request” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who this morning called for more help in a heated speech before the US Congress, the President of the United States signed a text in front of the cameras that allows this mass party. new equipment.
Joe Biden promised to allow the Ukrainian army to arm itself with more effective equipment, especially in the face of dangers from the sky: in this way, the United States will help Ukraine get the “long-range” air defense systems that Kyiv demanded.
Gregory Meeks, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, explained to CNN that the statements refer to S-300s, Russian anti-aircraft missile systems that may be sent to Ukraine by other NATO members.
Ukraine will also receive 800 Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems, 9,000 anti-tank systems, about 7,000 light weapons (rifles, machine guns, pistols, etc.) and 20 million ammunition.
Distribution of $800 million in US military aid to Ukraine:
– 800 portable anti-aircraft missile systems “Stinger”
– 2,000 Javelin portable anti-tank missile launchers
– 100 kamikaze drones (Switchblade)
+ assistance in obtaining Russian long-range anti-aircraft missile systems S-300 pic.twitter.com/oedYtGhWps— Philip Berry (@ptiberry) March 16, 2022
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