The US weapons maker General Atomics is offering to sell Ukraine two Reaper MQ-9 drones for a dollar with an additional $10 million needed to prepare and ship the aircraft to Ukraine, and about $8 million each year for maintenance and sustainment of the older model drones, which currently aren’t being used in Ukraine, WSJ reports.
“The proposal would include a ground control station to operate the drones almost anywhere, according to a letter reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The proposal was made by Linden Blue, chief executive officer of General Atomics, which makes the Reapers, to Ukraine’s defense attaché in Washington last week. […] The White House, which would have to approve the sale, declined to comment. The Ukrainian government also declined to comment,” WSJ wrote.
The UAV Reaper can fly for more than 24 hours on surveillance and reconnaissance missions, carrying up to 386 kg of weapon payload internally or 1361 kg externally. WSJ says that the company is offering an older version of the drone, MQ-9A Block 1 aircraft, which would normally cost several million dollars a piece.
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