Tube-launched anti-armour loitering munitioncombat-provenpartial data
Switchblade 600
LASSO (US Army Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance, increment 1)
A man-portable, tube-launched loitering munition that searches for armoured vehicles and other hard targets, then dives onto them with an anti-armour warhead.
No public price No official per-round price found. Lithuania's December 2022 contract was about $45 million for an undisclosed quantity plus launchers, training and support; The Defense Post estimated the price falls between the Switchblade 300 ($80,000) and Javelin ($176,000). Army budget exhibits (asafm.army.mil, comptroller.defense.gov) were not reachable.
| Maker | AeroVironment |
|---|---|
| Origin | United States |
| First combat | 2023, Ukraine (wreckage shown in Russian social media videos from April 2023) |
| Launch weight | 15 kg |
| Cruise speed | 113 km/h |
| Top speed | 185 km/h |
| Max range | 60 km |
| Propulsion | Battery-powered electric motor (rechargeable smart battery) |
| Guidance | Operator-in-the-loop via encrypted data link with tap-to-target; EO/IR gimbal and secure GPS |
| Launcher | Self-contained launch tube (1.5 m long, 19.2 cm diameter) for ground, vehicle, air and maritime use |
All performance figures are manufacturer claims from the AeroVironment datasheet: 60+ km demonstrated standoff, 90+ km with a data-link forward pass between operators, and 40+ minutes endurance. The munition weighs 15 kg and the all-up round in its tube 29.5 kg; the launch tube is 1.5 m long. The warhead is described only as anti-armour; secondary sources say it is based on the Javelin warhead, but no mass is published. The US Army ordered more than 100 in 2023 under the LASSO program, and Russian channels claimed downed examples in Donetsk in April and July 2023.
Sources (11)
- AeroVironment Switchblade 600 datasheet (v250428): munition 33 lb (15 kg), AUR 65 lb (29.5 kg) (launch_weight_kg)
- AeroVironment Switchblade 600 datasheet: 60+ km standoff, 90+ km with forward pass (range_km)
- AeroVironment Switchblade 600 datasheet: loiter 113 km/h (speed_kmh_cruise)
- AeroVironment Switchblade 600 datasheet: sprint 185 km/h (speed_kmh_max)
- AeroVironment Switchblade 600 datasheet: launcher 60 in (1.5 m) by 7.5 in (19.2 cm) (launcher)
- AeroVironment Switchblade 600 datasheet: rechargeable smart battery (propulsion)
- AeroVironment Switchblade 600 product page (guidance)
- EurAsian Times: Switchblade-600 downed by Russian EW (25 Jul 2023), citing social media videos (first_combat)
- LRT: Lithuania signs contract to acquire Switchblade drones (Dec 2022) (unit_cost_note)
- The Defense Post: US Army orders Switchblade 600 (Oct 2023), cost estimate (unit_cost_note)
- Breaking Defense: Army awaiting 100-plus Switchblade 600 attack drones (Oct 2023) (notes)
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