U.S. Army buys more Switchblade 600 kamikaze drones

The U.S. Army has ordered another $51 million worth of Switchblade 600 loitering munitions from AeroVironment, the company announced Wednesday.

The delivery order covers additional Switchblade 600 Block 2 systems and also includes Switchblade 600 Block 1 systems tied to a Foreign Military Sale for an unnamed U.S. ally. It was issued under the Army’s existing Lethal Unmanned Systems Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract, a five-year vehicle worth up to $990 million that the Army first awarded in August 2024.

The order is a follow-on to the Army’s initial procurement of the newer Switchblade 600 product line.

“Continued investment by the U.S. Army in Switchblade 600 Block 2 reflects both the growing demand for long-range, precision loitering munitions and the proven reliability of the Switchblade family in demanding operational environments,” said Brian Young, Senior Vice President of Loitering Munitions at AeroVironment.

“Building on the success of Switchblade 600 Block 1, Block 2 continues to deliver the meaningful upgrades in autonomy, resilience, and lethality tailored to the Army’s needs in contested, multi-domain operations,” Young said.

Switchblade 600 has been fielded across more than 20 U.S. Army brigade combat teams since 2025, according to AeroVironment. Hundreds of soldiers have been trained on the system’s operation, the company said.

Switchblade 600 Block 2 was developed with United States Special Operations Command. It is built for use in maritime and other contested environments as part of multi-domain operations.

The system includes upgraded avionics and automatic target recognition software, called SPOTR AiTR, intended to speed up detection, identification and engagement of targets. It also carries Silvus MANET radios for resilient, distributed communications and extended handoff ranges. AeroVironment said the system’s navigation is designed to remain effective in GPS-challenged environments.

“This new delivery order under the LUS IDIQ further validates Switchblade 600 Block 2 as a next-generation, scalable fires solution for the Army,” Young said. “As we expand our manufacturing capacity and accelerate delivery timelines, we’re ensuring that U.S. soldiers have reliable, combat-proven loitering munitions that deliver precision effects at range while keeping them out of harm’s way.”