The Switchblade is the newest government issue for U.S. soldiers
Can you remember the good ole days when a US soldier was issued matches and some cigarettes?
Well, those days are long gone and the newest plaything for the soldier deployed to Afghanistan is actually a small drone, known affectionately as “The Switchblade”.
DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Adam Mancini, U.S. Army
These ”loitering munitions” weighs just under 2.7 kilograms and can be launched rapidly and sent to circle above the battlefield before zeroing in on an enemy according to a Sydney Morning Herald report.
The mini-drone is manufactured by the AeroVironment Corporation in Monrovia, California.
Like the elder and larger Predator drones, the unmanned Switchblade is flown by a ”pilot” who monitors the flight from a video screen.
There are critics coming out on the use of such weapon technology saying it will shorten the “kill chain”, in other words, The Switchblade delegates full responsibility to a lower-level soldier on the ground, which may result in more tragic errors.
Even the military has their doubts. The fear of these “death toys” landing in the hands of a terror group must send chills down their spines.
Not much is known about the actual number of Switchblades there are actually out in the field or in what countries.
