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Ukraine Getting Hot New Recon Drone From Maker of the Switchblade
Ukraine’s use of off-the-shelf videography drones, primarily from DJI, for target spotting is incredibly innovative.
But Ukraine is about to get an upgrade.
So much of an upgrade that Ukraine’s newest incoming drone was only recently adopted by the U.S. Army as a replacement for RQ-7B Shadow and represents drone manufacturer AeroVironment’s most high-tech drone to date.
Announced in the February 24 security assistance package, the U.S. will be sending Ukraine an unspecified number of Jump 20 VTOL fixed-wing drones.
The JUMP 20 is a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), fixed-wing drone used to provide advanced multi-sensor intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) services.
The Jump 20 doesn’t need a runway and can take off without launch or recovery equipment. This means that Ukrainian operators can get the system airborne in as little as 60 minutes or less.
It has a link range of 185 km between itself and its operator, and thanks to some secret squirrel tech, it can operate independently of GPS signals in a heavy electromagnetic warfare environment.
That is to say, when Russia tries to jam its signal, it can still perform its mission.
