AeroVironment Inc. YouTube
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WAR IN UKRAINE – Foreign aid for the Ukrainian army is intensifying, as the Russian invasion has been underway for more than three weeks now.
US President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday March 16 the dispatch of around 100 drones, which “illustrates our commitment to giving Ukraine our most advanced systems for its defense”.
According to US Congressional officials to NBC News, they could be drones made by the American company AeroVironment called “Switchblade”, a formidable single-use weapon capable of striking ground troops for the Switchblade 300, or destroying a tank or artillery post for the Switchblade 600 (see the two presentation videos below).
The Switchblade is labeled as a kamikaze or suicide weapon, equipped with its own guidance system and cameras. It can be set up in minutes and launched from a pipe.
It can be programmed to automatically hit targets miles away and steered around targets until the time is right to strike, NBC News reports. 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 used so far to inflict damage on the Russian military, and they could conceivably penetrate its patchy air defenses.
According to some estimates, the Switchblade 300 would cost 6000 dollars (5440 euros).
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Drones already in use in Afghanistan
On the war in Ukraine and its possible imminent implication, the AeroVironment company issued a sober press release, stating its position: “We support our allies and our sovereign nations in their right to protect their homeland and their lives even when this fundamental right is threatened. AeroVironment stands with the people of Ukraine and all of NATO.”
The US military has in the past used the Switchblade in combat in limited circumstances in Afghanistan and elsewhere, but has not made that fact public, sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The UK is the only foreign country that has so far been allowed to purchase the Switchblade.
Joe Biden also authorized this Wednesday the sending of 800 million dollars of additional military aid to Ukraine, an “unprecedented” envelope of one billion dollars in one week to face the Russian invasion. .
“At the request” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had called for more aid in the morning in a fervent speech to the American Congress, the President of the United States signed, in front of the cameras, the text which allows this massive shipment new equipment.
Joe Biden has promised to allow the Ukrainian army to equip itself with more efficient equipment, especially in the face of dangers from the sky: the United States will thus help Ukraine to obtain anti-aircraft defense systems ”to longer range”, which kyiv demanded.
Gregory Meeks, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, clarified on CNN that these statements refer to “S-300”, Russian surface-to-air missile systems, which could be sent to Ukraine by other NATO member countries.
Ukraine will also receive 800 “Stinger” anti-aircraft defense systems, 9,000 anti-tank systems, approximately 7,000 light weapons (rifles, automatic weapons, pistols, etc.) and 20 million munitions.
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Breakdown of $800 million in US military aid to Ukraine:
– 800 portable Stinger surface-to-air missile launchers
– 2,000 portable Javelin anti-tank missile launchers
– 100 drones kamikaze (Switchblade)
+ help in obtaining Russian S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile systems pic.twitter.com/oedYtGhWps— Philippe Berry (@ptiberry) March 16, 2022
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See also on The HuffPost: Arthur hired to help Ukrainian refugees
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