US to provide Black Hornet nano drones to Ukraine in new $400 million military package

Europe, News, US July 27, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The United States Department of Defense announced a new military aid package for Ukraine valued at up to $400 million. The latest package consists of additional air defense missiles, armored vehicles, anti-aircraft and anti-armor rockets, and small surveillance drones.

The military package is the 43rd security assistance package approved by the United States for Ukraine. Kyiv has received more than $43 billion in the form of military aid from the U.S. since Russia’s invasion in 2022.

The new $400 million package comes at a time when Ukrainian forces are pushing forwards in their slow-moving counteroffensive against Russia.

Black Hornets

For the first time, the U.S. has also pledged to provide Black Hornet surveillance drones to Ukraine. Black Hornets are nano-drones made by Teledyne FLIR Technologies. Tiny drones are 10 centimeters in length and only 2.5 centimeters in width, weighing no more than 16 grams.

With a total flight time of 25 minutes and a range of one kilometer, these drones are primarily used for intelligence gathering and surveillance. Ukrainian has previously received and used similar nano drones from the other Western allies.

*^{UK forces using Black Hornet nano drone. (Image Credit: Daniel Wiepen/MOD)}*

In addition, the military package includes munition for the Patriot air defense system, National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), and Stinger anti-aircraft systems. The package would also provide additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), 32 Stryker Armored Personnel Carriers, Hydra-70 missiles, mortars, and millions of rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades.

The military aid package has been approved under the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which allows a speedy provision of weapons to Ukraine, sometimes arriving within days after the announcement. The PDA allows the U.S. Department of Defense to dispatch materials and defense equipment from the U.S. excess inventory.

The latest military package includes:

Additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS)
Stinger anti-aircraft systems
Ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)
155mm and 105mm artillery rounds
120mm and 60mm mortar rounds
32 Stryker Armored Personnel Carriers
Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles
Javelin and other anti-armor systems and rockets
Hornet Unmanned Aerial Systems
Hydra-70 aircraft rockets
Tactical air navigation systems
Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing
Over 28 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades
Night vision devices and thermal imagery systems
Spare parts, training munitions, and other field equipment.

US ramps up support for Ukraine

Washington has paced up its support for Kyiv following Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Last week, on July 19, the Biden administration announced a separate $1.3 billion military aid package for Ukraine under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the package includes four National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and munitions, 152-millimeter artillery rounds, mine-clearing equipment, and drones.

*^{National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System developed by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and Raytheon. (Image Credit: Raytheon)}*

While commenting on the U.S.’s latest military aid for Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s support for Ukraine. Blinken said that “Russia could end this war at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine and stopping its brutal attacks against Ukraine’s cities and people. Until it does, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine, for as long as it takes.”

Russia responded to the U.S.’s increasing military aid toward Ukraine. Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov said in a post on the embassy’s social media that “The actions by Washington are beyond morality and common sense.”