US To Donate RQ-21 Blackjack Tactical Drones and Patrol Boats To Bangladesh
The United States Ambassador to Dhaka, Peter Haas, attended an event last week at the Defense Service Command and Staff College (DSCSC), which trains Bangladeshi military officers. Addressing a group of officers at the event, the ambassador made statements about Washington’s five general goals for improving US-Bangladesh relations and how the American embassy works to achieve these goals.
The American Ambassador said that their first goal is to strengthen the defense readiness of the Bangladesh Armed Forces to ensure that the Indo-Pacific region remains free, open, peaceful, and secure. To this end, Haas reported that the US plans to deliver Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack tactical drones, 9-meter SAFE Patrol Boats, and additional Zodiac Rigid Hull Boats to Bangladesh over the next year. The Ambassador also stated that these systems, which will assist Bangladesh in carrying out UN missions and defending its sovereignty, will be donated through the US Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program.
According to data from the US Department of State, the US provided $66.9 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and $7.29 million in International Military Education and Training (IMET) assistance to Bangladesh’s Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, and Special Operations units from 2015 to 2022. These funds provided Bangladesh with three different types of patrol boats for the Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard, as well as electronic and mechanical upgrades to fast patrol boats and ex-US Coast Guard cutters currently used by the Bangladesh Navy, small unmanned aerial systems, ammunition, body armor, advanced radio systems, and first aid equipment. As part of the Excess Defense Article (EDA) program, the Bangladesh Armed Forces also received two ex-US Coast Guard Hamilton Class cutters, 90 M1224 MaxxPro MRAPs in three different variants, and 11 mine rollers from the US.
In addition to these deliveries, the Tiger Shark series of joint exercises by US special operations units continues to provide tactical training to SWADS and Para Commandos. The ground forces of the two countries are participating in the Tiger Lightning exercise, the air forces in the Cope South exercise, and their navies in the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training, or CARAT exercise. Furthermore, the two countries are continuing to collaborate in a joint exercise known as Disaster Response Exercise and Exchange, or DREE, to improve joint response capability to natural disasters.