AeroVironment [AVAV] said Tuesday it will donate over 100 of its Quantix Recon unmanned aircraft systems to Ukraine to assist in its ongoing fight against Russia’s invasion of the country.
The company said the delivery of the mapping and scouting drones was finalized during a meeting between CEO Wahid Nawabi and the ambassador and the defense attaché at the Embassy of Ukraine last week.
“As the Ukraine military’s fight to protect their homeland and defend their nation’s freedom against Russia’s invasion intensifies, their need for solutions that can offer force protection and force multiplication capabilities continues,” Nawabi said in a statement. “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.”
AeroVironment noted the Quantix Recon UAS donation is independent from other military equipment packages organized by the U.S. government in support of Ukraine that have included the company’s other capabilities.
The U.S. has provided $3.2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine over the last year and more than $2.6 billion since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in February, with several military of the equipment packages including AeroVironment’s Switchblade loitering munitions and the Puma unmanned aerial system.
The first half of the Quantix Recon UAS shipment is expected to be delivered this week, according to AeroVironment, which noted they will also provide operational training services to Ukrainian forces.
AeroVironment described the Quantix Recon as “a lightweight, easily deployable, fully automated reconnaissance solution that provides on-demand actionable intelligence using high-resolution, georeferenced terrain, vegetation and infrastructure imagery.”
The hybrid vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) system includes fully-automated flight operation that can “survey up to 1.6 square kilometers or 20 linear kilometers (12.4 miles) per 45-minute single battery flight,” according to AeroVironment.
“Using the actionable intelligence gathered by the Quantix Recon, operators can conduct quick mission planning and verification to help keep Ukrainian ground forces out of harm’s way. AeroVironment is honored to support the people of Ukraine,” Nawabi said.