Politico: US Air Force Wants to Transfer Reaper Drones to Ukraine, But Pentagon Has Doubts

The US Air Force wants to transfer Reaper drones to Ukraine. At the same time, the Pentagon is still discussing this issue.

This was reported by Politico with reference to its sources.

Such a proposal from the Air Force came a month after Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, the Pentagon still doubts whether these drones should be transferred to Ukraine. The fears of the US Department of Defense are caused by the transfer of secret technology and the fact that some of it will almost certainly be shot down. Interlocutors of the publication say that "the situation is almost hopeless." According to one of the sources, this position disappointed the Ukrainian side. He also said that Kyiv promised its partners to use drones to strike only at Russian positions on the territory of Ukraine and also promised to share information about targets with the United States beforehand.

The MQ-9 Reaper is a strike-reconnaissance drone capable of flying at a range of up to 1,900 km at a speed of over 300 km/h. It can rise to 15 km and be in the air for up to 28 hours.