Russian troops will soon encounter American-made drones at the Battle of Donbass.
The Ukrainian defenders will receive 121 Phoenix Ghost kamikaze drones from the United States.
They are part of the $800 million security package that the Biden administration announced this week in support of Kiev -- and its best-kept component.
Lorenz Hemicker
Editor in Politics
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Anyone looking for pictures of the drones on the Internet will be unsuccessful.
The manufacturer consortium Aevex Aerospace does not even list Phoenix Ghost on its website.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby left it at a press conference in Washington DC on Thursday with a few hints.
Phoenix Ghost is part of a drone program that the US Air Force was working on before the Russian attack.
In discussions with the Ukrainians, it was then concluded that the drone would "very well" suit their needs in the Battle of Donbass.
At least these needs are no secret: the Ukrainian defenders are facing a superior strength of Russian troops in the east of the country.
Since the beginning of the week, Moscow has been trying to completely occupy the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts with attacks from the north, east and south, thereby encircling parts of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Given the open terrain, Russian combat troops in eastern Ukraine have better opportunities to deploy their superiority in battle tanks and armored formations.
Ambushes by hunters with anti-tank weapons from built-up areas, with the help of which the Ukrainians stopped the Russian advance in the north, are much less common here.
This is one reason why Kyiv is now vehemently asking Western supporters for tanks, artillery – and more combat drones.
Phoenix Ghost is the second combat drone that the Americans are supplying to Ukraine.
According to the US armed forces, Kiev's troops have already received 400 switchblades, several of which the Ukrainians have used in the war.
Unlike traditional combat drones that fire missiles, both models have a small warhead that they use to launch themselves at the target, destroying themselves in the process.
Hence the nickname Kamikaze drones.
The Kamikaze variant has a number of advantages over conventional combat drones: it is inexpensive and easy to learn how to operate.
Neither type of drone needs a runway.
A switchblade weighs 2.5 kilograms in its smallest configuration and can easily be transported by an infantryman.
And finally, the drones can circle over their area of operation almost unnoticed for a long time before they plunge down.
Experts therefore also speak of "loitering ammunition", i.e. ammunition that is hanging around, so to speak.
This means they can circle in the air until a target is found, then dive down onto it.
According to an Aevex board member, the Phoenix Ghosts are even more powerful than the Switchblades.
The drone can take off vertically, search for a target for over six hours and, thanks to its infrared sensors, can also operate at night, quoted former American Lieutenant General David Deptula on Thursday.
The switchblade, on the other hand, can only stay airborne for an hour and is effective against "medium armored ground targets," the dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies said.
When exactly the new kamikaze drones will be used is still open.