US plans to sell Ukraine Gray Eagle drones that can carry Hellfire missiles to help battle Russia, report says

• The Biden administration plans to sell Ukraine four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones, Reuters reported.
• The drones, which can fly for up to 30 hours, can be armed with Hellfire missiles.

The Biden administration plans to provide Ukraine with four drones that can be armed with Hellfire missiles, Reuters reported.

The MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones would allow Ukrainian troops to conduct longer missions as they can fly for at least 30 hours and can gather huge amounts of data for intelligence purposes, according to the report.

Sources told Reuters that the sale of the drones could still be reversed if Congress votes against the plan.

Drone expert Dan Gettinger from Vertical Flight Society told Reuters: "Generally the MQ-1C is a much larger aircraft with a max take-off weight around three times that of the Bayraktar-TB2, with commensurate advantages in payload capacity, range, and endurance."

Ukraine forces have used smaller shorter-range unmanned aerial systems against Russia, such as the AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma AE, and the Turkish-made Bayraktar-TB2.

According to the news agency, the sale would be significant because it would give Ukraine advanced reusable US systems capable of multiple deep strikes.

President Joe Biden said in a statement announcing the new security assistance to Ukraine: "This new package will arm them with new capabilities and advanced weaponry, including HIMARS [High Mobility Artillery Rocket System] with battlefield munitions, to defend their territory from Russian advances."

The drones, made by General Atomics, are also compatible with a greater variety of munitions than the ones Ukraine currently uses. The Bayraktars are equipped with 22 kg Turkish-made MAM-L missiles, for example.

Sources told Reuters that arming the drones with Hellfire missiles would be done via a future Presidential Drawdown Authority, but only once training has been completed.

Gettinger said training operators for the drone systems usually takes months, but plans to speed up that process have been drawn up, the news agency reported.

The White House did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.