“A significant number of Switchblades are already in Ukraine,” a US Department of Defense spokesperson said. “It won’t be long before the rest of us come to this country,” he said.
In early April, the Pentagon announced that 100 Switchblade UAVs manufactured by the American company AeroVironment were shipped to Ukraine.
Switchblade kamikaze drones were created for the US Marine Corps in 2011. There are two options: Switchblade-300 and Switchblade-600. The drone is launched using a mortar method – it fires back like a mine, spreads its wings in the air, starts the engine and flies to the target area at a speed of 160 km / h. Flight time is 40 minutes, range is 40 km.
According to Konstantin Sivkov, Doctor of Military Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences, the Switchblade-300 is a small device that looks like a child’s toy – it weighs 2.5 kg, and 1 kg is a warhead. “It’s like a little grenade coming out of a grenade launcher. Such ammunition does not pose any threat to the tank, other armored vehicles – only for open manpower, ”explained Sivkov.
“The Switchblade-600 is more serious. There is no exact data on its dimensions, but if we assume that we are talking about breaking the armor of vehicles from above, the warhead should be at least 5 kg, respectively, the total weight should be at least 20 kg,” Sivkov believes.
The expert noted that these drones can both operate autonomously and be controlled by an operator. “In autonomous mode, the drone goes to the designated area and drops like a normal rocket. But the Switchblade-300 is small, does not have a target recognition system, so it may not be able to successfully solve the problem – it just falls into an empty place and explodes. “If the drone is controlled by an operator, the communication channel is blocked by portable electronic warfare equipment,” he said.
In October 2021, an article was published on the American specialist portal Military Watch about the possibilities of using the Switchblade in combat. “The complex has long been accepted for service, it was delivered to England. The complex is known to have been used in Afghanistan, but there are no reports of its use in the public domain. This raises the suspicion that the effect is not impressive,” the Military Watch publication said.
Alexei Leonkov, in turn, believes that Switchblade kamikaze drones cannot be called effective for mass use.
“This is a point gun used on single targets. They can destroy lightly armored vehicles. Heavily armored – no. Russian tanks have active dynamic protection, and with such ammunition it is almost impossible to pierce it, and then the armor of the tank. American kamikaze drones will not help Ukraine. This is not a weapon that can change the balance of power. But their delivery can be considered successful PR. For example, we help, ”said the specialist.
According to Leonkov’s prediction, the same fate awaits Switchblade as Bayraktar TB2 in Ukraine.
“Turkish UAVs did not help the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the myth that they are super drones is dispelled, now it’s time for American ammunition. Our anti-aircraft missile systems, MANPADS, are perfectly intercepted by our short-range anti-aircraft missile systems – they can be detected and destroyed. As soon as such ammunition burns, they will be eliminated, ”says the expert.
In turn, military expert Dmitry Litovkin believes that drones “could potentially worry the Russian military.”
“The fact is that the Russian army destroyed a large number of Ukrainian military equipment. The Armed Forces of Ukraine now need to somehow compare their capabilities with that of the Russians. Do it immediately. They will have certain abilities with such drones. They are dangerous to our light equipment. At the same time, you need to understand that the size of these devices allows the Ukrainian army to easily transport and use them, ”Litovkin told socialbites.ca.
Source: Gazeta
