Canada will hand over 800 SkyRanger R70 UAVs to Ukraine: what is known about them and when will the drones be at the front

Canada has announced that it will provide the Ukrainian Defense Forces with more than 800 SkyRanger R70 drones as part of an additional aid package. Ukraine may receive these UAVs in the spring of 2024.

This was announced by Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair on Monday, February 19, CTV News reports. According to him, this is planned to be done no later than April.

The SkyRanger R70 will be delivered to the Ukrainian Armed Forces as part of a $500 million aid package announced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his visit to Kyiv in the summer of 2023.

According to the country's defense minister, unmanned aerial vehicles play an important role in the war and in repelling Russian aggression. The official also assured that Ottawa would support Kyiv until the war against the Russian occupiers is won.

According to the publication, the cost of these UAVs is estimated at about $95 million.

"The donation ensures that Ukraine will have the drones it needs to detect and identify targets that are critical to its defense against Russian invasion," Blair said.

The SkyRanger R70 drones are equipped with a variety of video camera systems and have target detection and identification equipment. In particular, they can determine where enemy phones are located, can recognize people, and carry explosives up to 3.5 kilograms. They are manufactured in Canada and supplied by Teledyne.

As OBOZ.UA reported, in the spring of 2023, the media wrote that the First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko requested high-tech Teledyne Flir R70 Skyranger drones from Canada, which are not vulnerable to Russian electronic warfare. At the time, it was about the need for 300 such UAVs.

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