U.S. to send Ukraine experimental weapons to fight drones, - media
The U.S. will send Ukraine experimental weapons to combat Iranian and Chinese drones.
This was reported by the U.S. Defense One magazine, citing representatives of the state contractor SAIC.
On April 4, the Pentagon announced the delivery of a new package of military assistance to Ukraine. It included weapons systems, which the U.S. called “10 mobile c-UAS laser-guided rocket systems”.
The delivery followed a tender held by the U.S. Army in January for the purchase of the system against Iranian Shahed-136 UAVs.
According to a SAIC source, the company is to send to Ukraine 10 anti-drone complexes, the cost of each of them does not exceed $30 thousand, while Ukraine is forced to use missiles worth up to $500 thousand each to combat drones.
"Russia has used Shahed-136s to attack not just Ukrainian military forces, but also enough civilian infrastructure to cause blackouts across the besieged country. Ukraine has downed many of the Iranian-made drones, which cost about $20,000 apiece, but sometimes is forced to use $500,000 air-defense missiles to do so," the publication notes.
The system also reportedly includes M240 machine-gun mount and an electronic warfare system that can take control of a commercial drone, including any DJI-brand system not operating with advanced encryption.
According to the company, during the test, the system detected the drone at more than six miles and hit it at three miles, far more than the Army's requirement of 1.2 miles.
Author – Anastasiya Glotova, 06/04/2022
