AeroVironment Switchblade 600 loitering munition

Overview:

The Switchblade 600, manufactured by AeroVironment, is a loitering munition with ‘high precision optics’ which provides ‘unprecedented RSTA (reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition) and precision strike capabilities against larger, fixed or moving hardened targets via anti-armor warhead.’ AeroVironment claims that the Switchblade 600 provides an ‘all-in-one, man-portable solution’ with ‘everything required to successfully execute missions across land, sea or air with four Fire Control System (FCS) options.'^[1]AeroVironment, Switchblade 600, https://www.avinc.com/lms/switchblade-600; Aerovironment, Switchblade 600 data sheet, … Continue reading

Autonomy:

The Switchblade ‘contains cameras, and video from these sensors, as well as GPS information and image processing, is used to guide the Switchblade. The Switchblade is also designed to receive targeting information from other drones, allowing it to follow and find selected targets’; this makes the Switchblade  a weapon ‘that can be directed against a target with the targeting information provided by other drones’^[2]Popular Science, ‘What are Switchblade drones?’, https://www.popsci.com/technology/switchblade-drones-explained/

Wahid Nawabi, CEO of AeroVironment, has said that ‘the technology to achieve a fully autonomous mission with Switchblade pretty much exists today.’ At present, the system requires a human to confirm the target.^[3]VOA News, ‘Drone advances in Ukraine could bring dawn of killer robots’, https://www.voanews.com/a/drone-advances-in-ukraine-could-bring-dawn-of-killer-robots/6902931.html

Instances of use:

The Switchblade 300 and 600 are in use by Ukrainian forces.^[4]Defense News, ‘Switchblade kamikaze drone production to ramp up following Ukraine … Continue reading