Ukraine will be receiving the newest Switchblade 600 drones armed with tank-busting warheads

Ukraine will be receiving the newest Switchblade 600 tank-destroying ‘kamikaze’ drones.

Bloomberg reported about this citing two sources familiar with this decision.

With the first shipment, Ukrainian Defense Forces will be receiving 10 newest Switchblade drones armed with tank-busting warheads. Ukraine will be receiving a total of 100 “kamikaze” Switchblade drones from the Pentagon. Accordingly, the remaining 90 drones will be the Switchblade 300s, which are capable of destroying manpower and vehicles.

Switchblade 600 is a product of the American company AeroVironment. UAVs are equipped with sensors and video cameras that allow the operator to monitor the destruction of the target in real-time. Ammunition can be launched from the ground, naval, or air platforms.

Range – 40 km

Flight duration – 40 minutes

Weight – 54.4 kg

Flight altitude: 150-4500 m

Cruising speed: 110 km/h

It is expected that the greatest effectiveness of using the kamikaze drones can be achieved by combining the reconnaissance capabilities of the Bayraktar TB2 UCAV and the Switchblade’s ability to hit targets with high accuracy from a considerable distance. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces demonstrated such effective tactics during the war for the liberation of occupied Nagornyi Karabakh.

The new Switchblade 600 weapons are part of a $300 million lethal military assistance package.