AeroVironment has been awarded a hybrid cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract with a value of 990 million in response to an “urgent” US Army requirement for new loitering munitions.

The order falls under the remit of the “Lethal Unmanned Systems Directed Requirement”, an acquisition initiative dating back to 2022. The contract is an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) framework with a duration of 5 years. According to AeroEnvironment, the first deliveries will take place within months.

This award adds to a series of initiatives with which the US Army is trying to source great numbers of loitering munitions and lethal drones to issue more widely to its troops. The SWITCHBLADE 600 is in fact already being acquired under the Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) programme to equip the Infantry Brigade Combat Teams, with an important contract awarded in December 2023. Deliveries under that contract are already underway.

The SWITCHBLADE 300 has already been in procurement and in use for several years, especially with the Special Forces. More Loitering Munitions of both these types are also being acquired through the REPLICATOR initiative. Both munitions are tube-launched and can be easily transported by soldiers in a backpack, but the 600 is heavier and more capable and offers anti-armour capability, unlike the smaller 300, thanks to the use of the same warhead that is found on the JAVELIN missile.

The SWITCHBLADE 300 Block 20 has an endurance of circa 20 minutes and with the right antenna can reach as far as 30 km. It weights just 8 pounds and comes in its launch-tube. It can also be launched from a multi-round launcher that can be installed on vehicles. The 600 can reach out to 40 km and fly for around 40 minutes. Both munitions are highly automated, but comes with a man-in-the-loop capability.

The SWITCHBLADE family has so far dominated the market, having come to maturity first and having also been supplied to Ukraine. It is thought to have been procured by the UK as well, and in turn sent to Ukraine within London’s own military aid grants. The US Army intends to add other loitering munition types over time, however, and the contracts to AeroEnvironment are not in any way meant to represent the only solution.

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