US Army Awards $20.6Mln Contract For 'Switchblade' Drones As Supplies To Ukraine Surge

The US Army awarded defense manufacturer AeroVironment a $20.6 million contract to procure Switchblade 300 loitering munition drones, one of the two variants of Switchblade UAVs being supplied to Ukraine, the company said in a statement

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd September, 2022) The US Army awarded defense manufacturer AeroVironment a $20.6 million contract to procure Switchblade 300 loitering munition drones, one of the two variants of Switchblade UAVs being supplied to Ukraine, the company said in a statement.

The US Army awarded defense manufacturer AeroVironment a $20.6 million contract to procure Switchblade 300 loitering munition drones for use in Ukraine, the company said in a statement.

The United States awarded a $20,602,464 fixed-price contract award to AeroVironment to procure Switchblade 300 systems - unmanned aerial drones that loiter in the skies before performing a "kamikaze" style attack on designated targets, the statement said on Thursday.

The drones are scheduled to be delivered by July 2023, the statement added.

"Deployed by the US Army for more than a decade, Switchblade 300 remains a critical force protection and soldier lethality solution for our customers, including Ukraine," AeroVironment Vice President Brett Hush said in the statement.

Switchblade 300 models are a lightweight variant of the Switchblade system, hundreds of which have been sent by the US to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's special military operation. Switchblade 300s can be carried in a backpack and rapidly deployed, allowing strike capabilities up to 10 kilometers (six miles) from their launch location, according to the statement.

The Biden administration has authorized nearly $16 billion in security funding for Ukraine since taking office, including sending drones, armored vehicles, artillery and other weapons for use against Russian forces.