On March 28, AeroVironment presented the most current version of its Switchblade 300 rapidly deployable loitering missile system to the public for the first time. The Switchblade 300 Block 20 enhances the performance of the Switchblade 300 Block 10C by adding new operational features and substantial performance and capability upgrades.
The Switchblade 300 Block 20 is easily transportable, lightweight, and user-friendly, requiring only one person to operate it, writes the company in its release. The newly developed Fire Control System, built on tablets, makes it easier for operators to train, plan, and carry out missions. Incorporating control immediately onto the launcher tube, where it can be easily accessed, simplifies the system’s operation.
According to Brett Hush, vice president of AeroVironment and product line general manager of tactical missile systems, AeroVironment’s tactical missile systems have proven to be a game-changing capability for U.S. and allied forces ever since the company pioneered the loitering missile category with the Switchblade 300 more than a decade ago. These systems provide a remarkably rapid, precise, and effective way to address lethal threats.
This lightweight, precision-guided, and lethal missile can be launched in under two minutes via tube launch from land, sea, or mobile platforms, providing greater mission flexibility. It is also extremely lethal, writes the company. The Switchblade 300 Block 20 has improved durability, a greater Digital Data Link (DDL) range, a brand-new EO/IR panning camera array, and left-hand commitment with continuous identification. Additionally, it has a new EO/IR panning camera array. (PID). The patented wave-off capability of its progenitor is carried over into the Switchblade 300 Block 20. This enables the operator to recommit against moving targets in surroundings with a high degree of dynamic activity.
Small expeditionary troops benefit from the precision, lethal effects, and minimal collateral effects of the Switchblade 300 Block 20. Real-time video against beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) targets is provided by the Switchblade 300 Block 20 for more than twenty minutes of tactical reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition. The Cursor-on-Target GPS coordinates provide situational awareness, information collection, targeting, and feature/object recognition. As a result, they deliver the actionable intelligence and precision firepower necessary for an operation’s successful completion across multiple domains, as per the company.
