The US may downgrade an advanced drone to ease its concerns about letting Ukraine have it, report says

• The US is considering modifying the powerful Gray Eagle drone for Ukraine, CNN reported.
• Officials are said to be wary of a full-powered model being seen as an escalation by Russia.

The US is considering ways of limiting one of its most powerful drones so that it can send some to Ukraine with less risk, according to multiple reports.

Two unnamed officials told CNN this week that the US was investigating how to change the components in the Gray Eagle, or MQ-1C drone.

Ukraine asked for the drones months ago as part of a list of advanced equipment it hoped could give it an edge over Russia.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the US had declined the request for the Gray Eagle. But both Ukrainian and US officials told CNN since then that discussions were continuing.

One unnamed congressional official told CNN: "There are specific and very technical tweaks and neutering that can be done to these that may make it possible in the nearer term. But those things take time and are fairly complex."

As of September, officials were looking at removing a high-tech tracking device known as a Multi-Spectral Targeting System, Politico reported.

In a statement to Insider, Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder declined to comment on the Gray Eagle, but gave a general commitment to "support Ukraine for as long as it takes."

He also said that the US wouldn't donate any arms it considers vital to its own defense.

The Gray Eagle has a fearsome reputation, and was conceived as an upgrade to the Predator drones deployed extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Gray Eagle has a range of 2,500 nautical miles and can fly at 25,000 feet, and can carry advanced weapons like Hellfire missiles.

Its weight, range and 27-hour endurance means it outstrips the famed Bayraktar that steeled the Ukrainian defense early in the conflict, drone expert Dan Gettinger told Reuters.

Several concerns have given the Pentagon pause when wondering whether to give Gray Eagles to Ukraine.

One is the issue of training Ukrainian soldiers to use the equipment, which can take months, per Politico. It also requires considerable ground infrastructure, the outlet reported.

But officials are also alarmed at the possibility that Russians could capture and study its advanced technology, CNN reported.

"These are very expensive systems and there are concerns that they could be shot down," an unnamed official told CNN.

Earlier this month, Sky News reported that Russia had handed a captured Javelin, an NLAW and a Stinger anti-aircraft missile to Iran in an exchange for drones. That prized Western technology is likely now being studied by the sanctions-hit state, an unnamed source told the outlet.

Per CNN, a US official said this was a bigger concern than the perception of escalating the conflict in the eyes of the Kremlin.

The WSJ had previously reported that escalation was a prime concern. The US has hesitated before providing long-range weapons with the capability of striking in Russian territory, such as the HIMARS system, but ultimately has sent them.

"There's still real interest in providing this particular system, provided we can make the necessary modifications and they are still useful to Ukraine on the battlefield," the US official told CNN, of the Gray Eagle.