The US has announced it will be sending General Atomics “Gray Eagle” drones - similar to the infamous “Predator” drone - to Ukraine. However, the US is only initially sending 4 drones and the Gray Eagle is comparable to Ukraine’s existing (or perhaps previously existing) Bayraktar TB2 drones produced by Turkey. The Gray Eagle drones will face the same limitations Ukraine’s Bayraktar drones faced, providing no means to change the course of the conflict, but almost certainly making General Atomics money alongside other US arms manufacturers, namely Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. References: Where to Find My Work: Visit The New Atlas Website: References: moonwalk689-6 hours ago Andrew Shilkey --3 hours ago A question for you. The Bayraktar TB 2 is a line of sight system. Reported to be around 300 kilometers or 190 miles. The Gray eagle system uses satellite links I believe. The last time I looked Ukraine doesn't have satellites. So how are they going to operate them unless they use US satellites? That makes the US a participant in the conflict. Agree totally that these drones will have a very short life span in the conflict. EXPOSING CAPITALISM'S MULTITUDE OF VICES AND INCURABLE PROBLEMS
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Reuters - EXCLUSIVE U.S. plans to sell armed drones to Ukraine in coming days -sources: https://www.reuters.com/business/aero...
Daily Sabah - Ukraine, Turkey have signed deal for 12 Bayraktar TB2 UAVs, Poroshenko says (January 2019): https://www.dailysabah.com/defense/20...
UAWIRE - Ukraine conducts flight tests of Turkish combat drones (July 2020): https://uawire.org/ukraine-conducts-f... Defense News - Ukraine is set to buy 24 Turkish drones. So why hasn’t Russia pushed back? (September 2021): https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/...
Daily Sabah - In Ukraine’s 1st combat use, Bayraktar TB2 destroys Russian armament (October 2021): https://www.dailysabah.com/business/d...
The US has announced that it will send the HIMARS multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) to Ukraine. The system is touted as the next “game changer,” yet upon closer examination the proposition appears highly unpractical and a microcosm of how Ukraine has been used to enrich US corporations and menace US adversaries.
Guardian - Himars: what are the advanced rockets US is sending Ukraine?: https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...
US Army - Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS/HIMARS) Crewmember: https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jo...
CSIS Missile Defense Project - Russian Air and Missile Defense: https://missilethreat.csis.org/system...
The Times - Russia takes battle into space and targets GPS in Ukraine: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ru...
Ukraine has become a giant training ground for US arms manufacturers.
The other day, you were talking about how many US weapons systems are designed with the assumption that one already has air superiority, and this is a great example of that. These drones may have worked in Afghanistan where airspace was basically uncontested, but not against a modern military with modern air defense systems as you said. For how much they cost, US military weapons are shockingly bad at winning wars against competent adversaries.
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