{"id":1451301,"date":"2022-04-23T08:44:42","date_gmt":"2022-04-23T12:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1451301"},"modified":"2022-04-23T08:44:57","modified_gmt":"2022-04-23T12:44:57","slug":"phoenix-ghost-is-the-u-s-air-forces-newest-drone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/phoenix-ghost-is-the-u-s-air-forces-newest-drone\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPhoenix Ghost\u201d Is the U.S. Air Force\u2019s Newest Drone"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fphoenix-ghost-is-the-u-s-air-forces-newest-drone%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1451301&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div id=\"attachment_218265\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-218265\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IRPIN,UKRAINE \u2013 MARCH 6: Ukrainian soldiers on the collapsed bridge that crosses the Irpin River aim for a suspected Russian observation drone on March 6, 2022 in Irpin, Ukraine.\u00a0 (Laurent Van der Stockt for Le Monde\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Edited 4\/21\/22 at 4:29 EST to include comments from Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby, who walked back the department\u2019s previous characterization of Phoenix Ghost.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>WASHINGTON: The latest $800 million arms package for Ukraine includes a unique new item \u2014 the Phoenix Ghost tactical dron<span>e, a never-before revealed system de<\/span>signed by the US Air Force that will now prove its mettle on the battlefields of Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>The United States will provide more than 121 Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems, which are manufactured by AEVEX Aerospace, the Pentagon announced today.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier today, a senior defense official said the new drone \u201cwas rapidly developed by the Air Force in response, specifically, to Ukrainian requirements.\u201d However, in a later briefing, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby walked back that characterization, stating that the Phoenix Ghost was \u201cdeveloped before\u201d Russia\u2019s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was developed for a set of requirements that very closely match what the Ukrainians need right now in Donbas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The Phoenix Ghost is similar to the Switchblade unmanned systems previously delivered to Ukraine, the official said, in that it is a \u201cone way drone\u201d that is \u201cclearly designed to give a punch\u201d to a number of different types of targets. This likely means that Phoenix Ghost is a low-cost, single-use suicide drone that behaves like a loitering munition \u2014 flying around an airspace before ramming itself into a target.<\/p>\n<p>That said, there are differences in the \u201cscope of capability for the Phoenix Ghost, but I\u2019m just not going to be able to get into more detail about those capabilities,\u201d the official said, citing the classification of the new system.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2022\/03\/top-pentagon-acquisition-nominee-vows-to-expand-production-of-munitions-drones\/\"><em><strong>RELATED: Top Pentagon acquisition nominee vows to expand production of munitions, drones<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The official claimed to have \u201cno idea\u201d how Phoenix Ghost got its name, but noted that the new system would require minimal training for Ukrainian operators who are already familiar with Switchblade or other unmanned aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>The Air Force declined to comment on the creation of Phoenix Ghost, directing all inquiries to the Pentagon.<\/p>\n<p>AEVEX Aerospace\u2019s role in the design and manufacturing of Phoenix Ghost is also murky, with the defense official providing few details.<\/p>\n<p>Breaking Defense phoned the company\u2019s Solana Beach, Calif.-based headquarters hoping to find out more information, but was told \u201cWe have no comment on the issue you are calling about\u201d by the person who answered the phone. (Breaking Defense had identified itself as a member of the media but had not specifically inquired on Phoenix Ghost. Asked specifically about Phoenix Ghost, the representative for AEVEX repeated that she had no comment.)<\/p>\n<p>AEVEX markets itself as a \u201ca recognized leader in full-spectrum airborne intelligence solutions,\u201d with experience in operating manned and unmanned intelligence aircraft, exploiting the data they collect, and fabricating drones or mission systems.<\/p>\n<p>On March 4, AEVEX was one of more than 50 companies that received an indefinite-delivery\/indefinite-quantity contract from the Navy to meet \u201cnew and emerging requirements\u201d for areas including \u201ccombat integration and identification systems, ship and air integrated warfare systems, special communications mission solutions, air traffic control and landing systems, airborne systems integration, and integrated command and control and intelligence.\u201d However it\u2019s unclear whether this contract award has anything to do with the Phoenix Ghost.<\/p>\n<p>The bespoke new drone is only one part of the latest $800 million arms package announced by President Joe Biden today. Also included are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>72 155mm Howitzers and 144,000 artillery rounds<\/li>\n<li>72 Tactical Vehicles to tow 155mm Howitzers<\/li>\n<li>Field equipment and spare parts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Biden administration has provided about $3.4 billion in security assistance for Ukraine since Russia\u2019s invasion began on Feb. 24. The latest round of Howitzers, combined with <a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2022\/04\/for-first-time-ukraine-to-get-us-artillery-in-new-800m-weapons-package\/\">an earlier package from April 13<\/a>, \u201cprovides enough artillery systems to equip five battalions,\u201d the Pentagon said in a statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IRPIN,UKRAINE \u2013 MARCH 6: Ukrainian soldiers on the collapsed bridge that crosses the Irpin River aim for a suspected Russian observation drone on March 6, 2022 in Irpin, Ukraine.\u00a0 (Laurent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":489,"featured_media":1888545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1451301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1451301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1451301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1451301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1888545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1451301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1451301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1451301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}