USA: Kamikaze drones for Ukraine?

While more and more Western weapons systems are entering Ukraine, the United States is currently considering the possibility of supplying the Ukrainian defense forces with the AeroVironment Switchblade "Loitering munition drone." In principle, this is a small cruise missile or, in populist terms, a "suicide/kamikaze drone."

Developed by AeroVironment, the Switchblade is a "lightweight" portable drone that can be launched by a single person in just a few minutes. There are currently two variants of the Switchblade being tested: the 300, which weighs just under three kilograms and carries a small warhead intended for anti-personnel operations. And the much larger 600, which weighs around 25 kilos and was designed for the destruction of enemy tanks.

Both have a range of just under ten kilometers and a top speed of 150 km/h, but their rapid deployment capability means the drones can be launched without detection. Depending on the variant, they can stay in the air for up to 20 minutes and engage when a lucrative target is sighted.

Compared to the Javelins and NLAWs already being used in Ukraine, this doesn't sound very impressive. But the Switchblade could be used for "swarm attacks" against enemy troop movements/tanks and artillery.

At the moment, the USA is only considering the Switchblade. It has not yet been confirmed whether they will send it to Ukraine or not. But given the losses of the Russian armed forces in attacks that are essentially "hit-and-run" attacks by resistance forces, the appearance of the Switchblades could prove very problematic. But the rest of the package is not without its own – $800 million worth of weapons, including 800 Stingers, 2,000 Javelins, and 6,000 AT-4 anti-tank weapons.

HERE you can find all information about the Switchblade 300

HERE you can find all information about the Switchblade 600

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