The bipartisan group of sixteen US senators wrote a letter to the Biden administration on November 22 to urge the American President provide Ukraine with armed drones MQ-1C or Grey Eagles in order to gain battlefield momentum.
According to the WSJ, among the signatories are Democratic senators Tim Kaine, Joe Manchin, Mark Kelly and Republican senators Joni Ernst and James Inhofe, who is the outgoing ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The said medium-altitude armed drones can fly for more than 24 hours and can help the Ukrainian Arned Forces counter the extensive use of Iranian drones by Russia.
“The long-term upside of providing Ukraine with the MQ-1C is significant and has the potential to drive the strategic course of the war in Ukraine’s favor,” the legislators wrote in their letter to the US government.
The Russian army actively employs the Iran-made kamikaze drones Shahed-136 to target critical civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
Earlier WSJ reported citing unnamed officials familiar with the matter that the Biden administration wasn’t going to give Ukraine advanced drones despite pleas from Kyiv and a bipartisan group of members of Congress.
Related:
US not to Give Gray Eagle Drones to Ukraine to Avoid Escalation with Russia
