US drone makers send drones to Ukraine to fight the Russian military

With DJI under fire for allegedly helping the Russian military, US drone makers, such as Brinc and Skydio, see an opportunity to showcase their unmanned aircraft and are sending drones to Ukraine to help fight the Russian military.

According to news reports, over half a dozen U.S. companies have donated or sold their drones and drone-defense technologies to Ukraine, aiding the country’s defense by providing reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and photographing wartime atrocities.

According to the US drone makers, their Blue sUAS offer superior security over off-the-shelf DJI drones, such as the DJI Mavic 3.

BRINC donates drones to Ukraine

Last month, BRINC donated 10 drones to Ukraine and sold another 50 drones to Ukraine.

According to Chief Executive Blake Resnick, BRINC drones are being used by members of Ukraine’s State Emergency Service in their search-and-rescue operations and espionage efforts, reports the WSJ.

Mr. Resnick added that unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) from BRINC navigate in-flight using LiDAR—light bursts that allow the aircraft to see its surroundings—as opposed to GPS. These characteristics prevent Russia‘s counter-drone systems from easily detecting them.

Mr. Resnick, the CEO of BRINC, told journalists that his firm bought all of its inventory from distributors who were supposed to sell it to paying clients but instead sent them to Ukraine.

He explained that he and his deputy, Andrew Cote, a former Defense Department senior leader, traveled to northwest Poland for a 15-hour training session with Ukrainian pilots and emergency personnel.

BRINC drones can be useful in warfare because they can fly indoors and smash glass, as well as right themselves if knocked down and take off again, according to Mr. Resnick.

Skydio sends drones to Ukraine

The company’s CEO, Adam Bry, said that Skydio had donated dozens of drones to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, with hundreds more sold to non-governmental organizations and governments supporting Ukraine. Skydio has a team of people working full-time to deliver drones to Ukraine. Skydio drones and their data are secured using military-grade encryption and are now being used by Aerorozvidka in Ukraine.

Teal Drones send unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to Ukraine

Teal Drones Inc. supplied 15 drones from its Salt Lake City plant to Ukraine, according to company executives.

Fortem Technologies sends drones to Ukraine

CEO Timothy Bean of Fortem Technologies Inc., which produces drones for detecting and eliminating hostile aircraft, stated that the company’s Utah-based drones, which are meant to take out enemy machines in the air, are hard to spot while in flight because they utilize radar to guide and operate automatically. Fortem Technologies delivered a number of drone defense systems to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense this month, according to Mr. Bean.

Dedrone sends counter-drone systems to Ukraine

According to the WSJ, Dedrone is selling its counter-drone systems in Ukraine and deploying them there. Dedrone declined to provide any further information.

US drone makers sending drones to Ukraine

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense declined to answer questions about the use of American drones and counter-drone systems, the newspaper said.

Let us know what you think about US drone makers sending Blue sUAS to Ukraine to help in the fight against the Russian invaders in the comments below.

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