The Pentagon will supply the APU with special Phoenix Ghost attack drones
The Pentagon said it would supply the APU with more than 120 Phoenix Ghost attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) developed "specifically for Ukraine." Previously, they were not mentioned in open sources. "Newspaper.Ru" figured out what kind of drone it was.
The latest package of weapons for Ukraine includes a novelty - the Phoenix Ghost tactical UAV.
"This special unmanned aerial vehicle was developed in accordance with a set of requirements that correspond very precisely to what Ukrainians need right now in the Donbass. It was created specifically for Ukraine," Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby said.
At the same time, Kirby stressed that this UAV was in development long before the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. "It could probably have been a long-standing order from Kiev. But deliveries have only just begun. Another option is that the UAV was not made specifically for Ukraine, but announced it for reasons of public effect," the American Defense News portal notes.
Phoenix Ghost was created by the Californian company AEVEX Aerospace, whose representatives state that this drone provides "a full range of solutions for both reconnaissance and strike functions."
In addition, he stated that "he has no idea why Phoenix Ghost got a similar name, and it doesn't seem quite right." As you know, the mythical Phoenix bird is reborn every time after death, and the Phoenix Ghost UAV, Kirby recalled, is a one-time shock weapon.
The drone is similar to Switchblade-type unmanned aerial vehicles, Fortune portal writes, citing its own sources in the Pentagon. These are the barrage ammunition that the United States has already supplied to Ukraine.
The new system will require minimal training for Ukrainian operators who are already familiar with Switchblade and other unmanned aerial vehicles, according to the Pentagon.
"It is worth noting that under the name Switchblade there are not one, but two models with indexes 300 and 600, respectively, which are built according to general principles, but at the same time differ quite a lot in their weight and size characteristics. The younger model, designed to defeat enemy manpower, has a take-off weight of about 2.5 kg and is capable of performing a maximum of 15-minute flights within a radius of up to 10 km. The older model already has a mass of 22.7 kg and can stay in the air for up to 40 minutes, working within a radius of up to 40 km, and its tandem fragmentation-cumulative warhead borrowed from Javelin allows it to hit armored vehicles," he told the newspaper.En" Denis Fedutinov, editor-in-chief of the Unmanned Aviation magazine.
As the interlocutor of the publication noted, it is unclear to which of the two mentioned UAVs the new Phoenix Ghost UAV is closer in its capabilities. It is possible that the new system may also have several modifications.
"In addition, it is unclear what type of aircraft this is. It is not necessary to use an airplane type and a tandem wing, as is the case with Switchblade. The new device can be built, say, on the basis of a multi-rotor drone - there are examples of such systems in the world," Denis Fedutinov believes.
"Also, American developers could take the path of reducing the cost of this model compared to Switchblade. This could be realized by replacing a number of on-board subsystems, for example, control systems, communication systems, with cheaper ones," concluded Fedutinov.
Mikhail Khodarenok
