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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsInside the cutting-edge Switchblade drones the U.S. is shipping to Ukraine
On Wednesday. the White House announced a new $800 million military support package for Ukraine in a bid to help that country fight back against the ongoing Russian invasion. Part of the aid package is for cutting-edge aerial drones that experts say could prove exceedingly lethal to Russian forces.
The list of weapons to be shipped, President Biden said, includes 9,000 anti-armor systems, 7,000 small arms and 100 tactical unmanned aerial systems. A U.S. official later confirmed to ABC that the aerial systems to be sent would be small Switchblade drones.
Manufactured by the California company AeroVironment, the drones come in two variations: the Switchblade 600 and the 300. The latter is built to hit at smaller and more precise targets; the 600 is built to strike armored vehicles and tanks.
The 300 is less than 2 feet long, weighs 5.5 pounds and can fly up to 15 minutes. The larger drone weighs 50 pounds and can fly for 40 minutes over a range of 25 miles. Both can be carried in a backpack and deployed by individual soldiers. It has not been confirmed whether both models will be included in the shipment.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/inside-the-cutting-edge-switchblade-drones-the-us-is-shipping-to-ukraine-164754374.html
msongs
(67,371 posts)Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(107,767 posts)They're equipped with a warhead and fly right into their target.