Biden administration urged to give lethal Gray Eagle drones to Ukraine

Europe, News, US November 23, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Ukraine launched a request to acquire the U.S.-made Gray Eagle drones as it seeks an aerial advantage over Russia. Biden administration, however, blatantly rejected the appeal to provide the powerful drones to Ukraine.

With the Russian invasion in its ninth month, Ukraine has made several requests to the U.S. to acquire the most powerful drones and anti-missile systems. The most recent of these requests came this month when Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov requested four MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aerial systems along with a counter-drone missile system. Washington has so far not approved any of the appeals to provide drones to Ukraine.

The Gray Eagle drones are made by a U.S.-based defense manufacturer, General Atomics, and have high operation capabilities with a ceiling of 8,800 meters. The drones also have a high endurance capacity and they can fly for more than 24 hours.

Each base unit of a Gray Eagle drone costs no less than $10 million. The U.S. fears that the provision of such highly capable attack drones would escalate the situation in Ukraine.

*^{Internal workings of Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System. (Image Credit: U.S. Army)}*

A group of 16 U.S. senators released a statement in which they pressed the Biden administration to reconsider previously rejected request by Ukraine. The senators include Republican Joni Ernst and Democrat Joe Manchin, both of whom serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The group expressed concern over the Biden administration’s opposition to the request, saying that the provision of the armed drone “demands careful reconsideration.”

The group of 16 senators has given Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin until November 30, 2022, to explain why the Pentagon believes that the provision of drones is not appropriate for Ukraine.

The statement also demands clarity on whether U.S. concerns related to technology transfer were surmountable, and if the Pentagon thought that introducing the drone would further antagonize Russia. Pentagon replied by saying that “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on our communication with elected officials.”

Russia has recently increased its drone attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure as Ukrainian forces pushed forward through a successful counter-offensive strategy. Ukraine is also using drone attacks to target Russian military outposts.

^{Soldiers from Company D, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division move an MQ-1C Gray Eagle into position prior to conducting a mission at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, on August 4, 2017. (Image Credit: Capt. Stephen James/U.S. Army)}

Earlier this week, a Russian-installed governor in Crimea, Mikhail Razvozhaev, announced that Russian forces have shot down two drones in the city of Sevastopol, where Russian air defenses had been activated. “Our air defense forces are working right now,” he said on social media. “There is an attack by drones. According to preliminary information, two UAVs [uncrewed aerial vehicles] have already been shot down. All forces and services are on alert.”

So far both sides are using short-range and kamikaze drones. Russia is relying on Iranian drones while the Ukrainian drone fleet is largely made up of Turkish-made mid-range drones. By acquiring the lethal Gray Eagle drones from the U.S., Ukraine would gain a substantial aerial advantage over Russia.