AeroVironment introduces upgraded Switchblade 300 Block 20 loitering missile

US company AeroVironment has unveiled the newest version of its Switchblade® 300 rapidly deployable loitering missile system. The Switchblade 300 Block 20 builds on Block 10C’s performance in Ukraine with new operational features and significant performance and capability improvements. The company says it provides small expeditionary units with stand-alone precision and lethal effects with minimal collateral effects.

Weighing just under five pounds, this lightweight, precision-guided lethal missile can be deployed in less than two minutes via tube-launch from land, sea, or mobile platforms, providing greater mission flexibility. The Switchblade 300 Block 20 features a longer endurance, improved Digital Data Link (DDL) range, new EO/IR panning camera suite, and left-hand commit with continuous positive identification (PID).

Like its predecessor, Switchblade 300 Block 20 maintains its patented wave-off capability, enabling the operator to recommit against moving targets in highly dynamic environments.

It is portable, lightweight, and easy to operate, requiring only a single operator. The new tablet-based Fire Control System allows operators to easily train, plan, and execute missions. Operation of the system is further simplified by offering an integrated control directly onto the launcher tube.

The Switchblade 300 Block 20 provides more than 20 minutes of tactical reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition and real-time video for use against beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) targets. Cursor-on-Target GPS coordinates provide situational awareness, information collection, targeting and feature/object recognition that deliver actionable intelligence and precision.