AeroVironment, Inc., a global leader in intelligent, multi-domain robotic systems, announced it was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract on Sept. 28, 2021 by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) for $20,321,973 for the procurement of Switchblade® 600 tactical missile systems (TMS). Delivery is scheduled to be completed by January 2023. AeroVironment’s Switchblade 600 is an all-in-one, man portable solution equipped with a high-performance EO/IR gimbaled sensor suite, precision flight control and more than 40 minutes of flight time to deliver unprecedented tactical reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA).
“Switchblade 600 is an all-in-one, man-portable tactical missile that provides warfighters with the capability to fly, track and engage non-line-of-sight targets and light-armored vehicles with precision lethal effects,” said Brett Hush, vice president and product line general manager for TMS. “The tube-launched, Switchblade 600 can be easily transported for deployment from fixed and mobile platforms in any environment, providing operators with superior force overmatch and minimizing exposure to direct and indirect enemy fires.”
AeroVironment’s Switchblade’s anti-armor warhead enables engagement and prosecution of hardened static and moving light armored vehicles from multiple angles without external ISR or fires assets. Switchblade 600’s patented wave-off and recommit capability allows operators to abort the mission at any time and then re-engage either the same or other targets multiple times based on operator command, resulting in minimal to no collateral damage. As an all-in-one, man-portable solution, Switchblade 600 includes everything required to successfully plan and execute missions and can be set up and operational in less than 10 minutes.
AeroVironment’s tactical missile systems provide users with the ability to identify threats and deliver a precision lethal payload with minimal collateral damage. Switchblade® 300 and Switchblade® 600 loitering missile systems enable the warfighter to easily launch, fly, track and engage beyond line-of-sight targets and light armored vehicles across land, maritime and air-launched scenarios. The Blackwing™ loitering reconnaissance system is a variant of Switchblade designed to provide rapid-response intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities and can be deployed from a submarine using an underwater-to-air delivery canister, shipboard or mobile ground vehicle via tube-launch or Multipack Launcher (MPL).
