Christine Thropp
AeroVironment will provide the Ukrainian defense ministry with over 100 Quantix Recon unmanned aircraft systems to help its military with intelligence gathering missions.
The company said Tuesday its donation also includes drone operational training services as Ukraine continues to defend its homeland amid the Russian invasion.
Quantix Recon is a fully automated UAS that is designed to be lightweight and easily deployable to perform reconnaissance missions and gather actionable intelligence through high-resolution imagery of terrains, vegetation and infrastructure. It also has a hybrid vertical takeoff and landing design.
“This donation will provide operators with a tool that can fly undetected by enemy forces and unaffected by radio frequency jammers to deliver accurate and rapid reconnaissance of remote, inaccessible areas of the dynamically changing battlefield,” said Wahid Nawabi, chairman, president and CEO of AeroVironment.
The company will ship the first half of its donated drones to Ukraine in the third week of April, with more UAS expected to follow.
AeroVironment is also under contract with the U.S. Army to provide Ukraine with RQ-20 Puma AE systems. The award worth $19.7 million covers initial spares package, kits for reconnaissance surveillance and target acquisition as well as contractor logistics and training support.
