The Switchblade 300 weighs 3 kg and has an endurance of up to 15 minutes. Photo: AeroVironment.
The Australian Defence Force will acquire an unspecified number of small portable Switchblade anti-personnel and anti-armour loitering munitions.
Built by US company AeroVironment, the Switchblade 300 weighs less than 3 kg and is launched vertically from an air-compressed tube that a soldier can carry.
After launch, the drone’s composite folding wings and tails quickly deploy and a small pusher propellor driven by an electric motor is activated, giving it a range of up to 10 km or an endurance of up to 15 minutes. The drone carries an optical sensor that can be viewed in real-time on a small hand-held ground control station (GCS).
Once a target has been identified, the operator directs the drone onto the target where a small, shaped warhead detonates. Typical targets include armoured vehicles, small boats, buildings, communications antennas, artillery placements, fixed personnel positions or air defence systems.
The Switchblade entered service with the US military in 2012 and has been used to great effect by Ukraine against Russian forces since 2022. More recently, Taiwan was approved by the US State Department to buy more than 700 Switchblades and various training and support services at an estimated cost of US$60 million (A$89 million).
The announcement comes just weeks after reports that the ADF will also acquire the larger and longer-range Australian-designed Innovaero OWL loitering munition.
The Switchblade is launched from a portable air-compressed tube, after which its wings and propellor deploy. Photo: AeroVironment.
Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said February’s Defence Strategic Review (DSR) highlighted the increasing prevalence of autonomous weapon systems and that new technology and asymmetric advantage are important priorities.
“That’s why the Government is taking action to enhance the ADF’s use of drones,” he said.
“The delivery of this proven precision loitering munition demonstrates the speed at which we are introducing capabilities to the ADF. It shows the Australian Government is getting on with the job of providing the ADF with state-of-the-art technologies it needs to meet the threats we face.”
Defence expects the first Switchblade 300s will be delivered to Australia later this year and enter service in 2025.
