Canada will transfer 450 multi-purpose SkyRanger drones to Ukraine as part of the drone coalition SkyRanger drones.
This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
This decision was made following an extraordinary meeting of the drone coalition steering group. SkyRanger (R70) — This is an unmanned aircraft system that was developed for surveillance and intelligence collection. However, such drones can be used for transportation and delivery of goods.
In addition, Germany, as part of the drone coalition, will transfer VECTOR 211 reconnaissance drones, and Lithuania will allocate 3 million euros for the production of FPV drones for Ukraine.
Also at the meeting, the Netherlands confirmed its intentions to contract a batch of Heidrun RQ-35 drones for 200 million euros in cooperation with Denmark and Germany.
“The situation at the front is changing every day, the enemy continues to attack civilian targets, especially energy infrastructure. We need tools for asymmetrical response. The time is running out to discuss solutions, we need it now,” — said Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Katerina Chernogorenko.
Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds also called on other countries to take part in supporting the initiative.
In January, Latvia committed to leading a drone coalition within the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group in the Ramstein format. Then Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds reported that the drone coalition for Ukraine was supported by almost 20 countries.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced the official start of the drone coalition on February 14, after the 19th Ramstein meeting. The coalition's co-leaders are Great Britain and Latvia. Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden also joined the coalition.
In February, Canadian Minister of National Defense Bill Blair announced the transfer of more than 800 SkyRanger R70 multi-role unmanned aerial vehicles to Ukraine.
The more than 800 drones supplied by Teledyne FLIR of Waterloo, Ontario, have automated and autonomous navigation systems, allowing them to carry a variety of camera systems and payloads for target detection and identification.
These capabilities will help the Ukrainian operators to recognize people, vehicles and any heat sources from a great distance, especially in the dark and in bad weather.
Prepared by: Nina Petrovich