Aviation Radioman 3rd Class Peter L. Smith carried out more than 150 combat/support missions in the Pacific with Torpedo Squadron 28 during World War II.
The move comes as analysts are seeing Moscow’s rising pressure on Minsk to increase the satellite nation’s involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. is aiming to send Ukraine the “Vampire” counter-drone system by mid-2023, with a contract award expected within months, a Pentagon spokesman said.