Ukraina saab uue portsu "Javeline" VF uue pealetungi vastu idas. Lisaks käib jutt "Predator" jt. tõsistest droonidest:
The Biden administration is poised to dramatically expand the scope of weapons it is providing Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday, with the Pentagon looking to transfer armored Humvees and a range of other sophisticated equipment. [...] Preliminary plans circulating among government officials and lawmakers in Washington also included Mi-17 helicopters, howitzer cannons, coastal defense drones and protective suits to safeguard personnel in the event of a chemical, biological or nuclear attack, the officials said, though they cautioned that it was not immediately clear if all of those items would end up in the final aid package.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declined to comment. On Tuesday night, after this article was published, another U.S. defense official said the Russian-made helicopters would not be included.
Ukrainian officials also have begun to meet with U.S. defense firms to see how else they might be able to improve their defenses. In one recent example, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, met last week with representatives from General Atomics, the maker of Reaper and Predator drones, said C. Mark Brinkley, a company spokesman.
Brinkley said Tuesday the company is “currently exploring options” for supporting Ukraine, something that would require U.S. government approval. “We have aircraft available now for immediate transfer,” Brinkley said. “With support from the U.S. government, those aircraft could be in the hands of Ukrainian military pilots in a matter of days.” Such a transfer, Brinkley said, would expand Ukraine’s ability to conduct aerial surveillance of the battlefield and provide “highly lethal strike capabilities not afforded” by smaller unmanned aircraft. Ukrainian pilots already familiar with drone operations would not be “starting from scratch” in learning how to fly them, he said.
In a statement, Markarova acknowledged Tuesday night that she met with General Atomics representatives. “Together with our team, we discussed with General Atomics the prospects of increasing the capacity of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the current situation in Ukraine,” she said. When asked what hardware she requested of the company, Markarova’s spokeswoman declined to specify, saying Ukraine would prefer to “surprise Russia on the battlefield.” General Atomics supplies the U.S. Air Force with the Reaper and the U.S. Army with the Gray Eagle, an upgraded version of the Predator that was used widely by the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... e-weapons/"Predatorid" oleks väga suur samm edasi.
