Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom has announced an allocation of additional 60 million pounds (approximately $75.6 million) to the international fund set up to support Ukrainian forces fighting against the russian invasion. The money will be used to procure reconnaissance drones and air defense systems.
The official message from the UK defense ministry was illustrated by an interesting drone that rarely gets attention, even though a batch of those had been promised to Ukraine back in June 2023. Never seen on the battlefield yet, however.
Read more: Ukraine's New MacGyvered Kamikaze Drones are a Menace, russians Complain
A new £60 million package of military support from the UK-administered International Fund for Ukraine will provide advanced new surveillance drones to support 's Armed Forces.It will also include £20 million to provide air defence systems to help keep Ukraine's skies safe. pic.twitter.com/LyUCIdVYjZ — Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) March 22, 2024
The winged drone in the image is the AR3 made by Portuguese manufacturer Tekever. It is primarily designed for reconnaissance within the operational range of 100 km. The wingspan is 3.5 meters, the weight is 25 kg, plus it can take up to 4 kg as payload.
Depending on the equipment installed, this drone can fly from 8 to 16 hours. This discrepancy is due to the fact that it can be equipped with a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) system of rotor wings, which reduces the flight time but allows the AR3 to be deployed without a launch catapult. Otherwise, the drone can land by parachute or on its belly.
Notably, the options for payload include infrared sensors for nighttime vision or laser designators to illuminate targets, which could be useful to guide certain types of smart artillery munitions or anti-armor missiles, like Brimstone or RBS-17.
For a reminder, when the provision of these drones was initially announced in summer 2023, an interesting misunderstanding happened: the UK Ministry of Defense used footage of a Tekever AR3 operated by the Nigerian military to illustrate aid for Ukraine which led to an assumption that the delivery could be fast-tracked with the help of Nigeria who would provide already made drones for a compensation, yet it turned out false.
In the end, Ukraine was left to wait until new aerial vehicles were being manufactured, which can explain why this drone is being brought up now, almost a year after the commitment to deliver some.
In addition to the transfer of UAVs, the continued support from Great Britain in the air defense domain is extremely important. Combat capability of multiple British surface-to-air missile systems depends on a steady supply of ammunition for them, the examples include the Martlet MANPADS, the unique British vehicle for firing AIM-132 ASRAAM missiles specially created for Ukraine, and the Stormer HVM mobile system with Starstreak High-Velocity Missiles which has demonstrated extremely high efficiency against russian drones.
Read more: Ukraine's New AR3 Recon Drone Appears in the Video With "Nigerian" Markings
