As part of a military aid package, the Biden administration will deliver to Ukraine Switchblade drones, state-of-the-art guided missiles that could accurately target Russian troops from miles away.
While the terse statement refers to the drones as «unmanned tactical aerial systems,» the description of the weapon and the degree of engagement the U.S. needs to maintain – distant enough not to put personnel directly in contact with Russian materiel or soldiers, but efficient enough to complicate the advance if operated by Ukrainian military personnel – suggests that AeroVironment’s Switchblade 300 and 600 products are the ones chosen.
The Switchblades are robotic smart bombs equipped with cameras, guidance systems and an explosive warhead like the FGM-148 Javelin. They can be programmed to automatically attack targets located miles away and can perform holding patterns over targets until it is time to strike. The company claims that the 600 can fly for 40 minutes and at close to seventy kilometers.
They are single-use weapons, hence the name «kamikaze drones,» but they are vastly cheaper than the Hellfire missiles fired by the Reaper/Predator UCAVs and have infinitely less sensitive and more easily transferable technology. The Switchblade 300s can cost as little as $6,000, according to NBC.
According to some reports, the Switchblade saw action in Afghanistan and has been exported to the UK, the only country authorized to buy it. Tube-launched and controlled from a multifunction display with secure link and military-grade GPS navigation, the addition of the drone could represent a dramatic improvement in the defense capabilities of Ukrainian forces.
In September 2021, AeroVironment received a $20,321,973 firm-fixed-price contract from the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) for the procurement of Switchblade 600 tactical missile systems, with deliveries scheduled for January 2023.
It remains to be seen what the production and delivery capacity of the system is, beyond the current stockpile that may be transferred by the United States. Another question is what the learning curve will be for the operators and how the U.S. can get around the hurdle of providing training without Russia considering that they have thereby become a belligerent party.
