Switchblade 300/600
AeroVironment's Switchblade 300/600 is the world's best-known tube-launched loitering munition: a tactical 'kamikaze drone' carried in a soldier's backpack, it has seen massive use in Ukraine against Russian vehicles and positions.
Switchblade 300/600
AeroVironment's Switchblade 300/600 is the world's best-known tube-launched loitering munition: a tactical 'kamikaze drone' carried in a soldier's backpack, it has seen massive use in Ukraine against Russian vehicles and positions.
Community
Data trust
- Reliability
- Unverified
- Sources
- Sources pending review
Identity
- Designation
- Switchblade 300/600
- Alias
- AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munition
- Manufacturer
- AeroVironment
- Country
- United States
- Year
- 2012
- Category
- Loitering munition
- Class
- Micro (< 250 g)
- Status
- In service
Performance
- Range
- 40 km
- Endurance
- 40 min (600) / 15 min (300)
- Top speed
- 185 km/h
- Service ceiling
- 4,500 m
- Propulsion
- Elettrico, eliche pieghevoli
Physical characteristics
- MTOW
- 23 kg
- Payload
- 10 kg
- Weapons
- Testata anti-personale (300) o tandem anticarro Javelin-class (600)
Onboard systems
- Sensors
- EO/IR gimbal con designazione e wave-off opzionale
- Datalink / control
- Datalink criptato LOS, man-in-the-loop
- Launch
- Tubo di lancio (zaino o veicolo)
- Recovery
- Impatto sul bersaglio
Production & inventory
- Estimated inventory
- Migliaia (USA, Ucraina dal 2022)
Combat use
- ▸Afghanistan (2012-2021) — US Special Operations against the Taliban
- ▸Ukraine (2022-) — 700+ Switchblade 300s and hundreds of 600s against Russian vehicles and SAMs
- ▸Taiwan (2024) — procurement of 720 Switchblade 300s for anti-landing defense
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Main operators
History
Developed from 2010 for US Special Operations Forces, the Switchblade 300 entered service in 2012 as the first man-portable tactical loitering munition. The anti-armor 600 was unveiled in 2020.
From 2022 over 700 Switchblade 300s and hundreds of Switchblade 600s have been delivered to Ukraine through PDA packages, hitting T-72/T-90 MBTs and Pantsir SAM systems.
On the development side, AeroVironment's Switchblade was the first man-portable tube-launched kamikaze drone: Switchblade 300 (2.5 kg) eliminates personnel and light vehicles at 10 km, the 600 (23 kg, 40 km) is a tank killer with a tandem warhead derived from the Javelin.
From an OSINT and SEO marketing angle, 'Switchblade drone', 'US loitering munition', 'AeroVironment kamikaze drone', 'Ukraine tank killer drone' are among the most-searched queries in the drone-war space.
The Switchblade pioneered the man-portable loitering munition concept now replicated by Hero (Israel), KUB-BLA (Russia) and Scalpel (UK).