One Ukrainian Drone Is Smashing Russia's Factories—So Germany's Paying for 500 More
Expect hundreds of AN-196 drones deep inside Russia
Germany is reportedly paying for the production of 500 Ukroboronprom AN-196 Furious long-range attack drones. While Germany continues to withhold Taurus cruise missiles despite Ukraine’s clear need for the missiles, the Furious drones are a nice consolation.
Amid a wider military buildup under its new government, which formed in May, Germany plans to pump at least $100 million into Ukraine’s expanding deep-strike campaign targeting factories, airfields and other targets deep inside Russia.
The regime of Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin is clearly unhappy about the drone deal. “The Russian side had repeatedly warned that flooding the Kyiv regime with weapons only protracts the conflict,” Russian state media complained.
According to German newspaper Die Welt, the government of German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz will pay for 500 of the propeller-driven, satellite-guided Furious drones. A Furious carries a 50-kg warhead farther than 800 km. The $200,000 drone can follow a complex flight path and change altitude in order to avoid Russian air-defenses.
I'm glad the Ukrainians have allies they can count on, now that the US is a Kremlin ally.