Ukraine to buy 11 powerful PUMA-LE drones for army

Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation will purchase 11 PUMA-LE drone systems for the Ukrainian Armed Forces as part of the “Army of Drones” initiative.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov made the statement in a Telegram post, according to Ukrayinska Pravda.

“We are buying 11 powerful PUMA-LE drone systems for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Their cost is more than 540 million hryvnias (over $14.7 million),” Fedorov said.

He noted that drones are equipped with conventional and thermal cameras with 6x zoom, identifying the enemy day, night and in any weather.

“Thanks to antennas, drones cover a distance of up to 60 km. This distance will help the defenders get behind enemy lines. Drones are in flight for about six hours and rise to a height of up to three kilometres. This makes them invisible to the invaders,” the minister said.

Fedorov noted that PUMA-LEs are in service in 18 countries of the world: the US, Great Britain, Germany, France, etc. Now the Ukrainian front will be supplemented with such devices as well.