The Biden Administration will ship four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones, capable of carrying Hellfire high-explosive missiles, to Ukraine to provide the Ukrainian forces with additional firepower to battle invading Russian forces, according to Reuters.
The Gray Eagle, made by California-based General Atomics, has a maximum flight time of 36 hours, meaning it can linger over an area for an extended period of time to wait for a specific target or to direct an attacks on targets of opportunity. It’s maximum flight distance is 200 nautical miles, and it can carry up to eight Hellfire missiles.
Ukrainians have made effective use of various types of drones, from homemade versions constructed by newly inspired defenders to US-made RQ-20 Puma AE and the Turkish Bayraktar-TB2. The US has also sent Ukraine scores of “kamikaze” Switchblade drones that dive into targets.