US Army signs massive $1 billion deal to procure a fleet of Switchblade drones

In context: Switchblade drones are precision-guided missiles that can loiter over the battlefield for up to 40 minutes while relaying video feeds back to troops before smashing into targets kamikaze style. The US Army has been working to procure them to give ground forces a new capability for taking out armored vehicles, tanks, and even enemies hiding behind cover.

AeroVironment has landed a hefty $990 million contract to supply the US Army with its combat-proven Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS) over the next five years. It represents the Army's first push to outfit soldiers with man-portable loitering munitions at scale. A company representative told The War Zone that while they couldn't disclose exact numbers, this deal covers deliveries of two drone variants – the Switchblade 300 and 600. AeroVironment expects deliveries to begin in a few months.

"AV is proud to have been selected to provide Switchblade for this critical and urgent Army requirement," said AeroVironment Senior Vice President and General Manager of Loitering Munition Systems Brett Hush. "This latest contract underscores the unmatched maturity and effectiveness of our system, as well as AV's strategic positioning to rapidly produce and deliver these cutting-edge solutions to operators in the field."

Launched from a small tube system that foot soldiers can easily transport, the smaller Switchblade 300 model can loiter for 20 minutes out to 30 km. Troops can deploy it from land, sea, or mobile platforms. Due to its low acoustic signature, the system remains hard to detect, identify, or follow even when nearby.

The Switchblade 600 variant can loiter for 40 minutes, has a range of up to 40 km, and has the same anti-tank warhead as the shoulder-fired Javelin missile. While the smaller model is capable enough, the larger variant ups the ante with the ability to take out tanks.

Both models come equipped with electro-optical and infrared cameras that let operators get a bird's eye view for recon or manually guide the munitions to impact if needed. The drones also feature automated target tracking and engagement smarts, giving them multi-mission and multi-domain capabilities.

While AeroVironment is happy about the deal, it's worth mentioning that the company has been delivering these drones to the Army for a while now under previous contracts. The military has already used them in neutralizing Russian military assets in the Ukraine war. However, this new $990M award signals that the Army is more serious than ever about making such munitions a standard part of its arsenal.