USA to supply Ukraine with 10 Switchblade 600 kamikaze drones within month – Pentagon
The U.S. Army intends to conclude a contract for the supply of 10 Switchblade 600 kamikaze drones for Ukraine over the next 30 days, Pentagon spokeswoman Jessica Maxwell told the American defense publication Defense News.
As noted in the message published on Monday, AeroVironment company will be engaged in the manufacture of drones.
“The appeal of loitering munitions is that they can provide reconnaissance and strike in a single package. And although less sophisticated drones can be used to spot Russian targets for their artillery, Russian forces have been using electronic warfare to trace them to their pilots and strike back,” the article reads.
The Pentagon has already sent Ukraine loitering munitions, which means the system itself is the payload: a number of the smaller, shorter-ranged Switchblade 300 variant, and the Phoenix Ghost. According to the manufacturer, the 300 variant weighs 5.5 pounds, can fly 10 kilometers and loiter 15 minutes, while the 120-pound 600 version can fly 40 kilometers and loiter in the air for 40 minutes.
The greater longevity and heavier payload would help Ukrainian forces target Russia’s armored, self-propelled artillery, in particular, said Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “They have the same name, but they’re very different systems with very different target sets ― and they’d both be incredibly helpful to Ukrainian forces now and in the coming weeks,” he said.
Earlier, the Pentagon, in a message about additional arms supplies to Ukraine in the amount of $775 million, clarified that this package includes ammunition for HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, 16 howitzers, 1,000 units of portable Javelin anti-tank missile systems and 1,000 missiles for TOW anti-tank missile systems.
The United States also intends to transfer anti-radar missiles, 15 ScanEagle reconnaissance drones, 40 wheeled armored vehicles with enhanced mine protection MRAP, Humvee jeeps, secure communication systems, explosives, night vision devices, thermal imagers, optical devices and laser rangefinders to Kyiv.
