Sunday, February 18, 2024 10:00:31 AM
The French government plans to deliver new kamikaze drones to Ukraine within the next few weeks, as reported by French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche.
He revealed that France is currently developing the kamikaze drone technology, which is in the experimental and testing phase.
“In the coming weeks, Ukraine will be among the first to receive these drones. This also presents an opportunity for combat testing of this new generation of equipment,” Lecornu stated.
The minister also noted that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, France has trained 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers. He mentioned that there are plans to train an additional 7,000 to 9,000 military personnel during exercises throughout 2024.
Additionally, in cooperation with various countries, including the US and the UK, work is underway to supply Ukraine with a significant number of modern drones equipped with advanced artificial intelligence systems. These unmanned aircraft are designed for effective strikes against Russian targets and can operate synchronously to ensure maximum efficiency in operational actions.
On February 14, the 19th meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group took place in the “Ramstein” format. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced the launch of the Coalition for Integrated Air and Missile Defense, which has already been joined by 15 countries.
(C)UNIAN 2024
Looks like France is trying harder now to support Ukraine in a meaningful way. Not without self interest, however, since the lessons learned in this war require new weapons and equipment for its own defence forces, too. Lecornu has been honest about this: “This also presents an opportunity for combat testing of this new generation of equipment”. Nothing wrong with that, of course. But in light of this, and the high value of the battle-proven experiences gained from this (paid for with Ukrainian soldiers lifes), a significant increase of the amount of arms increases should be warranted. Only 3 billions looks cheap, France can and should be able to afford more than that, like 6 billions. That would still be a bargain, since the knowledge gained is invaluable!
Why not today?