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You know it’s serious when the Pentagon doesn’t just rubber stamp a Ukrainian weapons request.
Members of Congress sent Lloyd Austin, the head of the Defense Department (and former board member of Raytheon, America’s second largest defense contractor), a letter urging the Pentagon to speed up the process in reviewing Kyiv’s request for hi-tech MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones.
The letter from 17 bipartisan members of Congress, including Rep. Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, told Austin that the risk assessment should not “come at the expense of Ukrainian lives.”
TRENDPOST: While the U.S. Congress has never been more divided and disagreements seem to border on hatred from every major domestic and international issue… the one topic that consistently pulls in bipartisan support is more war.
The Trends Journal has noted how Congress easily passes more military support for Kyiv without even batting an eye. (See “WARMONGERS INC: WHILE 61 PERCENT OF AMERICANS LIVE PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK, CONGRESS SENDS $13.6 BILLION FOR UKRAINE” 15 Mar 2022, “WWIII: U.S. WARMONGERS FUELING KILLING FIELDS” 3 May 2022 and “WASHINGTON, MOSCOW HAVE COMBINED TO MAKE THE UKRAINIAN SITUATION INTO ARMAGEDDON” 3 May 2022.)
Congress is close to approving a stopgap funding bill that includes another $12 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine. The vote is expected to take place on Tuesday night “after sundown,” for the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashana.
MQ-1C Gray Eagle
Defense News reported that Ukraine has been requesting the drone since “at least” April, but there is a lingering concern in the Pentagon over its “survivability in the contested airspace above Ukraine.” There are also concerns over the U.S.’s own stockpiles.
The drone is made by General Atomics, which is based in San Diego. The company also makes the MQ-9A Reaper, which was also requested by Ukraine. The drone could be armed with Hellfire missiles, the report noted.
C. Mark Brinkley, a spokesman from the company, told the news outlet, “If you think HIMARS [High Mobility Artillery Rocket System] changed things, put some Gray Eagles in the air and see what happens next.”
“No one wants to see the significant gains made by the Ukrainians erode due to inaction,” he said.
TRENDPOST: Ukraine has not been bashful in calling out countries that it sees as not contributing enough in its war effort, but recent reports have indicated that Kyiv has become “savvier about its requests.” Politico noted that the country no longer makes requests for F-16s and these drones in public.
Politico reported that at heart of the Pentagon’s concern is the Raytheon-made electro-optical/infrared ball on the drone that provides real-time intelligence and allows the U.S. to track its targets. (It is worth noting that Austin served on the board of Raytheon.)
The report noted that these drones were used in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.
In the United States, where Washington attacks other nations across the globe and fights wars on the contention that are doing so to bring freedom and democracy, in America, where the people have no say and Washington does as it wishes, Lloyd Austin, the U.S. Defense Secretary and former board member of Raytheon, the second largest defense contractor in the U.S., will make the final decision.