23 September 2022, Friday, 11:42 964

Pentagon will accelerate transfer of large combat UAVs to Ukraine – Reuters

Редактор: Roman Vaniyan

Seventeen members of Congress asked U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to speed up the delivery of large combat drones to Ukraine, Reuters reports.

The Biden administration's plan to sell four large armed drones to Ukraine reportedly hit a snag in June over concerns that the unmanned aerial system's sophisticated surveillance equipment could fall into Russian hands.

The sources told reporters that the technical objection to the sale was raised during a deeper review by the Pentagon's Defense Technology Security Administration, the group responsible for protecting expensive technology.

Earlier, a plan to sell MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones, which have been in circulation since March, was approved by U.S. officials, three of the people said.

"A thorough risk assessment should not be carried out at the expense of the lives of Ukrainians," says the letter, which was obtained by Reuters.

The Pentagon's website also states that the department has signed a contract for the development of hypersonic cruise missiles worth almost USD 1 billion. The contract was signed with Raytheon Missiles and Defense. It is planned that the work will be completed by 2027.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on July 1, the Ministry of Digital Transformation together with the General Staff of the Armed Forces announced the collection of drones for the army.