Ukraine gets German funding for powerful long-range strike drones
Photo: Germany will allocate funds to Ukraine for purchasing strike drones and missiles (facebook.com/14RegARMY)
Germany will provide Ukraine with funding to produce and purchase long-range strike weapons — drones and missiles, informs Welt.
Representatives of the German government have signed the first contract to finance long-range weapons for Ukraine. The contract covers more than 500 An-196 drones.
The funded kamikaze drones have a flight range of 1,200 kilometers. They carry explosive warheads weighing about 50 kilograms. Sources say the strike drones purchased with German money will be available within the next few months.
The German Ministry of Defense confirmed that Germany has committed to funding the production of long-range weapons in Ukraine. They said this would allow the attacked country to be equipped with weapons systems in the short term, which the Ukrainian army is already trained to use.
At the same time, the Defense Ministry refused to disclose details about the funded weapons. They said revealing this information could allow conclusions about the military capabilities of the Ukrainian army.
Details about the An-196 Liutyi drone
The An-196 Liutyi ("Furious") is a Ukrainian long-range kamikaze drone. The Joint-Stock Company Ukrainian Defense Industry first announced it in October 2022. At that time, they said they intended to create a drone weighing more than 200 kilograms. It would be capable of delivering a warhead weighing 75 kilograms over a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers.
The first serial batch was ready by August 2023. On August 28, 2023, the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces attacked the base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's 126th Coastal Defense Brigade in Perevalne.
Also, on July 1, Ukrainian strike drones Liutyi attacked a factory producing Shahed drones in Izhevsk, Russia. The Ukrainian drones used in the strike had an unusual design.
