For decades, high-end precision-strike American aircraft, such as the Predator and Reaper, dominated drone warfare. The war in Ukraine, however, has been defined by low-budget models made in China, Iran, or Turkey. Their widespread use has changed how drone combat is waged and who can wage it. 

Some of these new drones are off-the-shelf quadcopters, like those from DJI, used for both reconnaissance and close-range attacks. Others, such as the $30,000 Iranian-made exploding Shahed drones, which Russia has used to attack civilians in Kiev, are capable of longer-range missions. But t…….

WASHINGTON ― The Pentagon has awarded L3Harris Technologies a $40 million order to send Ukraine “Vampire” counter-drone systems by mid-year, the company announced Monday.

L3Harris said it will install 14 kits onto vehicles the U.S. government provides Ukraine. Vampire, which stands for Vehicle Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment, consists of a laser-guided-missile launcher that can quickly be installed in a civilian truck bed.

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The Serhii Prytula Charity Foundation has used Ukrainians’ revenge donations to purchase drones with effective ranges of 30, 200 and 800 km for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Source: Prytula on Facebook

Quote: “On 10 October 2022, the Russians carried out a massive missile attack on Ukraine, and we then announced our crowdfunding for revenge. We raised UAH 352 million (about US$9 million) at that time.”

Details: Prytula, a former TV presenter, says the funds raised have been spent on Ram II kamikaze drones with ground stations. These drones can fly for up to 30 km.

P…….

For decades, high-end precision-strike American aircraft, such as the Predator and Reaper, dominated drone warfare. The war in Ukraine, however, has been defined by low-budget models made in China, Iran, or Turkey. Their widespread use has changed how drone combat is waged and who can wage it. 

Some of these new drones are off-the-shelf quadcopters, like those from DJI, used for both reconnaissance and close-range attacks. Others, such as the $30,000 Iranian-made exploding Shahed drones, which Russia has used to attack civilians in Kiev, are capable of longer-range missions. But t…….

Russian forces fighting in Ukraine are quickly burning through their stockpile of Iranian Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 drones, as the invasion effort drags on, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Vladimir Putin’s forces have stepped up the frequency of the UAV, or unmanned aerial vehicle, attacks across Ukraine since December, the think tank said in an updated analysis on January 7.

The Kremlin is hoping to continue its assault on the country’s critical infrastructure, the ISW argued, without its supply of missiles suffering.

Russian forces have used up 88 …….

WASHINGTON ― The Pentagon has awarded L3Harris Technologies a $40 million order to send Ukraine “Vampire” counter-drone systems by mid-year, the company announced Monday.

L3Harris said it will install 14 kits onto vehicles the U.S. government provides Ukraine. Vampire, which stands for Vehicle Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment, consists of a laser-guided-missile launcher that can quickly be installed in a civilian truck bed.

<p…….

For decades, high-end precision-strike American aircraft, such as the Predator and Reaper, dominated drone warfare. The war in Ukraine, however, has been defined by low-budget models made in China, Iran, or Turkey. Their widespread use has changed how drone combat is waged and who can wage it. 

Some of these new drones are off-the-shelf quadcopters, like those from DJI, used for both reconnaissance and close-range attacks. Others, such as the $30,000 Iranian-made exploding Shahed drones, which Russia has used to attack civilians in Kiev, are capable of longer-range missions. But t…….

WASHINGTON ― The Pentagon has awarded L3Harris Technologies a $40 million order to send Ukraine “Vampire” counter-drone systems by mid-year, the company announced Monday.

L3Harris said it will install 14 kits onto vehicles the U.S. government provides Ukraine. Vampire, which stands for Vehicle Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment, consists of a laser-guided-missile launcher that can quickly be installed in a civilian truck bed.

<p…….

Ukraine strikes building where Russian attack drones were launched

Intense fighting is reported around an important mining town in Ukraine’s east. CNN’s Ben Wedeman visited a Ukrainian artillery unit on the front lines where soldiers use a Soviet-era artillery system to strike a building where Russian attack drones were launched from.

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