The US Department of Defense will complete in September, after a five-month delay, the contract for the production of 10 Switchblade 600 kamikaze drones, which will be offered to Ukraine.

American soldier launches “Switchblade” kamikaze dronePhoto: Sergeant Gregory T. Summers – US Army / Zuma Press / Profimedia Images

In the six months since the invasion of Ukraine, the war has largely been artillery, but both sides have used thousands of drones, and both the United States and Russia have signaled that more are to come.

The Pentagon also sent such “floating” ammunition to Ukraine, where the system itself is a payload: the Switchblade 300 series, a smaller version (2.5 kg) with a reduced range (10 km) and PhoenixGhost.

And observers say that the armored Switchblade 600, which weighs 54.4 kg, can cover 40 kilometers and hover for 40 minutes, will be even better at detecting and attacking Russian troops and equipment during the expected Ukrainian counteroffensive in southern Kherson. region.

Increased durability and payload will allow Ukrainian forces to engage, in particular, Russian armored and self-propelled artillery systems, said Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center for Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies:

“You can use a 300 drone to damage a radar, but the more armored a Russian target is and the less Russian forces are out in the open, the more you need the Switchblade 600 drone. It has the same name, but they are very different systems for very different purposes – and both will be incredibly useful to Ukrainian forces in the coming weeks.”

The delay was caused by the fact that the 600 was still in the prototype stage, so it needed testing and evaluation. In addition to flying munitions, the Pentagon recently committed to sending ScanEagle, high-endurance, low-altitude reconnaissance drones to Ukraine that will guide Ukrainian artillery.

To date, the most famous drone in the Ukrainian arsenal is the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 of medium height and high autonomy, capable not only of reconnaissance, but also of striking and returning for reuse.

Sources: Ukrinform, Defense News.

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