AeroVironment from US to produce more loitering munitions Switchblade 300 and 600 for Ukraine.

According to a contract published by the United States Department of Defense, the American company AeroVironment Inc. was awarded a $17,898,403 modification contract to produce more Switchblade loitering munitions for Ukraine. Citing information from the "The Drive" website, Ukraine will also receive the Stwichblade 600 loitering munitions.
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Ukraine will receive from United States Switchblade 600 anti-tank loitering munitions. (Picture source AeroVironment)

Citing information published by the United States Department of Defense, Fiscal 2022 Foreign Military Sales (Ukraine) funds in the amount of $17,898,403 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

In April 2022, the United States announced the delivery of an undisclosed number of Switchblade loitering munitions to Ukraine. Citing U.S. military source, the first loitering munitions sent to Ukraine was the model Switchblade 300 manufactured by the American company AeroVironment.

According to information published on April 19, 2022, the American company AeroVironment also announced the donation of more than 100 Quantix™ Recon unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and operational training services to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and territorial forces.

On May 10, 2022, "The Drive" website published information that the U.S. Defense Department is still working out the details of a contract to send Ukraine larger Switchblade 600 loitering munitions, which is the big brother of the Switchblade 300.

A loitering munition also called a suicide drone or kamikaze drone is a weapon system category in which the munition loiters around the target area for some time and attacks only once a target is located. This type of weapon can be launched like a drone and controlled by on single soldier using a computer or tablet to control the flight and guide the drone to its target.

The Switchblade 300 is a miniature loitering munition or suicide drone developed and designed by the American company AeroVironment. It is a backpackable, rapidly deployable, loitering precision strike missile that can be used against beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) targets, from either mobile positions in the field or from a fixed defensive position for base security.

The Switchblade 300 is fitted with a warhead developed by the American company Northrop Grumman which has the size of a 40mm grenade. The warhead is specifically designed for controlled firepower to reduce collateral damage through a focused blast.

The Switchblade 600 that is also manufactured by AeroVironment represents the next generation of extended-range loitering missiles, delivering unprecedented RSTA support and featuring high-precision optics, over 40 minutes of loitering endurance, and an anti-armor warhead for engaging larger, hardened targets at greater distances.

The Switchblade 600 can be controlled by one single soldier up to a distance of 40 km and reach a maximum flight speed of 113 km/h. The whole system including the loitering munition and the launcher has a weight of around 55 kg while the drone itself weighs 15 kg.