US Lawmakers Urge Austin to Send Gray Eagle Drones to Ukraine - Letter

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd November, 2022) A bipartisan group of US senators on Tuesday sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin asking him to send Gray Eagle drones to Ukraine following reports that the Biden administration declined Kiev's request.

"Ukraine's Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov and Ukraine's Ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova have repeatedly requested the MQ-1C Gray Eagle," the letter said. "This system's operational attributes ... complement existing weapon systems used by the Ukrainians and will increase the lethality of the Ukrainian military."

According to the lawmakers, Gray Eagle could be effectively used by the Ukrainian military to find and attack Russian warships in the Black Sea while presenting a profound near-term advantage to Kiev with only 27 days needed for training.

The lawmakers believe that the alleged introduction of Iranian drones to the battlefield in Ukraine can stall Ukraine's counteroffensive momentum and lay the groundwork for a potential Russian victory over Ukraine that would "significantly damage American security and prosperity.

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The senators propose to swap advanced US-specific sensors for alternatives that are vetted for transfer to allies and partners and send the drone systems to Ukraine.

Earlier in November, CNN reported that the Biden administration was looking into ways to modify Gray Eagle drones in order to send them to Ukraine and at the same time lower the risks associated with the systems getting to the hands of the Russian military.

The system is an advanced version of the Predator drone and has an endurance of 25 hours, speeds up to 167 knots (309 km/hour), can operate up to 29,000 feet (8,840 meters), and can carry multiple payloads including four Hellfire air-to-surface missiles and four GBU-44/B Viper Strike glide bombs.