On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, the American company AeroVironment Inc. announced the signing of a contract on September 26, worth 54,861,545 USD, with the U.S. Army Contracting Command (ACC) from Redstone Arsenal in Alabama for the production of Switchblade loitering munitions for three NATO member states: Lithuania, Romania, and Sweden.
Switchblade 600 / Photo: AeroVironment Inc.
The work will be carried out in Simi Valley, California, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2026. The funds come from the NDAA budget for fiscal year 2023, from the U.S. Army’s missile procurement funds, fiscal year 2024 U.S. Army research, development, testing, and evaluation funds, as well as Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program funds for Lithuania, Romania, and Sweden. Full funding was released at the time the contract was signed.
“This contract modification allows us to continue delivering Switchblade systems to the U.S. Army and allied partners at speed with upgraded capabilities based on real-time battlefield feedback,” said Brett Hush, AV’s senior vice president and general manager of Loitering Munition Systems. “We are honored to provide the U.S. Army and our international partners with battle-proven technology.”
Since 2021, the Switchblade 300 loitering munition has been deployed by units under the United States Special Operations Command (US SOCOM) and the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). Later, the larger Switchblade 600 was developed under the Army Single Multi-Mission Attack program for the U.S. Army. It was subsequently supplied to Ukraine as military aid. The first export user of the Switchblade 300 was the United Kingdom in 2019, followed by France. More recently, Taiwan and Australia received approval to purchase it.
On September 14 of this year, the Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported that the government in Athens will purchase Switchblade 300 and 600 systems for the equivalent of 75 million USD, with as much as 50 USD million coming from direct loan funds under the Foreign Military Funding (FMF) program.
Lithuania
On December 22, 2022, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense announced the signing of a contract worth approximately 45 million EUR (approximately 47.7 million USD at that time) for the purchase of an undisclosed number of Switchblade 600 systems, becoming the first export user of the system. There were also plans to acquire the lighter Switchblade 300 (it was later announced that this variant would be provided by the Americans as a donation). Deliveries of the Switchblade 600 were scheduled to begin in 2024.
Therefore, it seems that the latest contract concerns the production of Switchblade 300 systems.
Romania
On July 16, 2024, Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tîlvăr announced plans to purchase 25 Switchblade 300 systems for 176 million RON (at the time 38.6 million USD) and one Switchblade 600 system.
Sweden
Sweden has not yet been mentioned among the new users of the system.
Switchblade 300 / Photo: USMC
Switchblade 600
The Switchblade 600 has a range of over 40 km (which can be extended to more than 90 km) and a flight endurance of over 40 minutes. The system weighs 54.4 kg, with 22.7 kg being the air vehicle, which carries a warhead based on the warhead of the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided missile. It is equipped with a 4-sensor optoelectronic head and is controlled via a tablet. Its cruising speed is 112 km/h, and during an attack, it reaches 185 km/h. It can engage targets from above in top attack mode.
Switchblade 300
This is a smaller variant of the Switchblade 600, introduced in two sub-versions: Block 10C and Block 20.
The first version (Block 10C) is 610 mm long and weighs 2.7 kg. After launch, it can stay airborne for 10 minutes and fly up to 10 km from the operator. Its maximum flight speed is 157 km/h. It is equipped with a day camera, an infrared camera, and a GPS locator. The warhead it carries has an explosive equivalent of a 40 mm grenade. Communication with the operator is facilitated through the Digital Data Link (DDL) module. A single Switchblade 300 can be launched by one soldier. There is also a version with the MPL (Multi-Pack Launcher), weighing 73 kg, which contains six tubes, each housing a loitering munition ready for use (the design allows for scaling from 2 to 20 tubes).
The second sub-version (Block 20) offers an extended flight time of up to 20 minutes and an improved DDL communication range. It is equipped with a panoramic camera set, including both day and infrared cameras, providing real-time imagery. The weight of the munition has been increased to 3.6 kg. The drone can transmit intelligence data, such as GPS coordinates of targets. The estimated cost of a single drone is between 90,000 and 120,000 USD
During the 32nd International Defence Industry Exhibition MSPO 2024 at Targi Kielce, both the Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600 were presented by company Parasnake Arkadiusz Szewczyk from Kielce (MSPO 2024: Parasnake to showcase AeroVironment drones).