The United States will be providing Ukrainian forces with 100 tactical unmanned drones as a part of its latest batch of military assistance.
President Joe Biden announced the latest military package, an additional $800 million, on Wednesday, and it includes 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 2,000 Javelin anti-armor systems, 1,000 light anti-armor weapons, 6,000 anti-armor systems, 100 grenade launchers, and another 1,800 pistols, machines guns, and shotguns.
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The drones, called the Switchblade 300, are equipped with cameras, guidance systems, and explosives, according to NBC News. They also can be programmed to strike targets miles away. Manufacturer AeroVironment says the drone can fly for up to 40 minutes and up to 50 miles.
“We stand with our allies and sovereign nations in their right to protect their homelands and their very lives when this fundamental right is threatened,” the company said in a statement on its website headlined “AeroVironment stands with the people of Ukraine and all of NATO.”
To date, the U.S. has donated a total of $2 billion since the start of the Biden administration, and they have handed over more than 600 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, and five Mi-17 helicopters, among other supplies. The U.S. is among more than a dozen countries that have provided military assistance to Ukraine.
Ukrainian leaders have not gotten everything they’ve asked for from the U.S., though. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with Congress on Wednesday to urge Congress and the administration to support and enact a no-fly zone and provide fighter jets. The administration has previously come out against both ideas.
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Biden and members of his Cabinet have warned that enacting a no-fly zone could necessitate shooting down Russian planes over Ukrainian airspace. They have maintained that U.S. forces will not enter the fight unless NATO’s Article 5 is invoked, which says that if any NATO member gets attacked, it should be considered “an attack against them all.”
Zelensky has also asked for fighter jets, so Poland came up with a plan to send its entire fleet of Russian-made MiG-29s to Ukrainian forces and have the U.S. back-fill the order. But the Pentagon came out against the deal days later, specifically referencing the possibility that Russia views the move as an escalatory one.
