MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/. France’s private defense companies have begun to supply the Kiev regime with drones for attacks on Russian energy facilities, Alexander Stepanov, military expert with the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, told TASS.
"French private defense companies have begun to arm the Kiev regime. In particular, France’s EOS Technologie has recently sent several Rodeur 330-class fixed-wing attack drones to Ukraine," he specified.
According to the expert, the drone, with a wingspan of 3.3 meters, is capable of flying at a speed of up to 120 km/h and at an altitude of up to 5,000 meters, for a distance of over 500 kilometers. The drone can stay airborne for up to five hours and carry a payload of four kilograms, which makes it possible to destroy ground command posts, lightly armored vehicles, and troops, as long as the drone carries a high-explosive thermobaric warhead. "However, Russia’s energy and fuel infrastructure facilities are expected to be the main targets for these drones," Stepanov noted.
He also pointed out that EOS Technologie's portfolio includes a heavier long-range drone, Endurance 1200, capable of staying airborne for 18-24 hours, performing reconnaissance missions and carrying a warhead of up to 30 kilograms to a distance of up to 800 kilometers, which poses a more serious threat. In the expert’s view, the heavier drone could be provided to the Ukrainian army after the lighter model is tested in actual combat operations.
"Paris clearly continues to play its own game, publicly escalating tensions in a bid to undermine the peace process, and supplying long-range weapons to the Kiev regime for strikes deep inside Russia," Stepanov concluded.