Washington: A Pentagon official revealed on Wednesday that the Ukrainian soldiers are being trained in the United States to operate the deadly Switchblade drones that Washington is supplying to Kyiv. Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said it was a ‘very small’ number of Ukrainian troops who were already present in the US before Russia invaded their country.
‘We took the opportunity, having them still in the country, to give them a couple of days’ worth of training on the Switchblades, so they can go back… to train others in the Ukrainian military’, Kirby said. According to him, the 100 drones, which are essentially remotely controlled flying bombs which are crashed into targets where they explode, have been sent to Ukraine to bolster the military’s fight against Russian troops. ‘They arrived over there earlier this week. So they’ll be getting into Ukraine quickly if they aren’t already there’, Kirby said, adding that the number of Ukrainian trainees was less than a dozen.
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Named for the way their wings unfold when launched, Switchblades are called loitering munitions, because they can be flown to target areas and held there until the right moment when a target is identified. President Joe Biden announced on March 16 that, among other weaponry and munitions Washington was shipping to the Ukrainians, it would start sending the Switchblades. The operator then flies them into the target where they explode.
The original version, small enough to carry in a backpack, was used by US forces in Afghanistan. A larger version, with enough explosives to take out armored vehicles, has also been developed. But the Pentagon would not say which one has been sent to Ukraine, if not both. Meanwhile the United States announced on Tuesday that it was releasing another $100 million worth of military aid to Ukraine as its forces push Russians out from the Kyiv region.
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