British Engineers from Palantir Building Ukraine’s Long-Range Drones To Hit Russia
Sept. 17—“Despite NATO allies still refusing to give Ukraine permission to use Western-supplied munitions to do so … Western technology and finance are helping Ukraine carry out hundreds of long-range strikes inside Russia,” proudly claims a long article on BBC’s website Aug. 29.
Ukrainian firms are now producing hundreds of armed one-way attack drones a month, at a fraction of the cost it takes to produce a similar drone in the West. The BBC “has been briefed” by one of Ukraine’s largest one-way attack drone manufacturers, as well as a big data company which has helped develop software for Ukraine to carry out these strikes.
Francisco Serra-Martins, a former Australian Army Royal Engineer, set up the company Terminal Autonomy, with his Ukrainian co-founder Roman Antonov, “backed by U.S. finance.” The firm is now producing more than a hundred AQ400 Scythe long-range drones a month, with a range of 750 km. The company also makes hundreds of shorter-range AQ100 Bayonet drones a month, which can fly a few hundred kilometers. He describes his drones as “basically flying furniture—we assemble it like Ikea.” Some of those longer-range drones were likely deployed in the Sept. 10 attack that reached targets in the Moscow region.
The other big player is Palantir, Pieter Thiel’s large U.S. data analysis company, which was one of the first Western tech companies to aid in the Ukraine war effort. It started by providing software to improve the speed and accuracy of its artillery strikes. “Now it has given Ukraine new tools to plan its long-range drone strikes.”
British engineers from Palantir, working with Ukrainian counterparts, “have designed a program to generate and map the best ways to reach a target.” Palantir makes clear “it is not involved in the missions but has helped train more than 1,000 Ukrainians how to use its software.” Louis Mosley of Palantir says “the program is helping Ukraine to skirt around Russia’s electronic warfare and air defense systems to reach their target.” Sources, however, do not believe these claims. Instead, it well known, but not officially admitted that Ukrainian taregting is being handled by NATO and NATO personnel. Thiel's software, said a source, "cannot work without NATO telemetry and satellite systems."
Ukraine clearly believes it could do even more with the help of Western-made long-range weapons. “But so far, allies have rejected Kyiv’s pleas. There is still a lingering fear, especially in Washington and Berlin, that it could drag the West further into the conflict.”
“But that hasn’t stopped Western companies and finance from helping Ukraine.” BBC has talked to one Ukrainian company which is already developing a new cruise missile, at least 10 times cheaper than a British-made Storm Shadow missile. Despite the West’s misgivings, Ukraine is planning to step up its attacks on Russia. Mr. Serra-Martins says: ‘What you’re seeing now is like nothing compared to what you’ll see by the end of the year.’' Other, more realistic sources, doubt that the Ukrainian military will be able to fight on that long, as their forces are already nearn collapse. "This BBC piece is just so much puff and fantasy to make it seem that Ukraine can fight on and threaten Russia," said a source. "Maybe the Brits will launch these missiles. They are crazy enough to do it."
