Taiwan's Ministry of Defense has signed official agreements with the US government that allow it to purchase up to 1,000 attack drones from AeroVironment Inc. and Anduril Industries Inc. Bloomberg reports UNN, citing sources.
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At the end of September, Taiwan signed an "offer and acceptance letter", which is a step towards signing contracts that define the volumes, dollar value and delivery dates. These contracts are expected to be signed in the near future.
The deals demonstrate "that both Taiwan and the United States are learning important lessons from the fighting in Ukraine and applying that knowledge to future procurement," Bloomberg quoted retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, as saying.
In June, the US State Department notified Congress that it had approved the sale of 291 Anduril ALTIUS 600M-V systems worth $300 million and 720 AeroVironment Switchblade 300 "B" drones worth $60 million.
According to Anduril, its ALTIUS 600M-V is a multi-role aircraft that allows one operator to control multiple drones. It has a range of about 160 kilometers and a flight time of almost two hours. The four-kilogram AeroVironment model can stay over a target for up to 20 minutes and is equipped with a specialized anti-tank warhead. Its range is about 30 kilometers.
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The publication notes that combat drones have become a major component of modern warfare. russian and Ukrainian troops have deployed thousands of drones, and unmanned aerial vehicles were used during Iran's attack on Israel in April.
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