- Switchblade 600 builds on battle-proven Switchblade 300, with
patented “wave-off” feature and ability to recommit, with increased
range, extended endurance and multi-purpose anti-armor munition for
use against larger, hardened targets
- Lightweight, self-contained Switchblade 600 launch tube system
allows for deployment flexibility from fixed and mobile platforms
on land, in air or at sea
- Switchblade 600 with advanced EO/IR gimbaled sensor suite,
precision flight control and more than 40 minutes of endurance
delivers immediate reconnaissance, surveillance, and target
acquisition
- New tablet-based Fire Control System allows operators to easily
train, plan missions and execute flight operations
AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned
aircraft systems (UAS), today announced the introduction of its
family of loitering missile systems, featuring the new Switchblade
600. Switchblade 600 builds on the battle-proven track record of
Switchblade 300 to define a new category of extended range
loitering missiles. The U.S. Army recently awarded AeroVironment a
$76 million contract award for Switchblade 300 system procurement
and support as part of the Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System
(LMAMS) program. Based on the same tube-launched, collapsible wing,
electric propulsion architecture as Switchblade 300, the new,
larger Switchblade 600 offers expanded capabilities for engaging
larger, hardened targets at greater distances.
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AeroVironment’s Family of Loitering
Missile Systems – Switchblade® 300, Switchblade® 600, Blackwing™
Loitering Reconnaissance System (Photo: AeroVironment)
“Since pioneering the loitering missile category with
Switchblade 300 more than 10 years ago, AeroVironment has worked
with multiple new customers to develop scalable variants that could
address new mission requirements,” said Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment
president and chief executive officer. “Now that Switchblade 300
has been adopted by the U.S. Army for its LMAMS program, our
customers are eager to deploy Switchblade 600 because it can
address larger, hardened targets in a more precise, rapid and
cost-effective manner than legacy missile systems. We anticipate
continued expansion of our family of loitering missile systems to
help our customers proceed with certainty across a broader set of
missions.”
Rapidly deployable, highly maneuverable, with high performance
optics and scalable munition payloads, AeroVironment’s Switchblade
loitering missile systems enable the warfighter to easily launch,
fly, track and engage beyond line-of-sight targets and light
armored vehicles with lethal effects and minimal or no collateral
damage. A required man-in-the-loop arming sequence provides
positive target confirmation, while AeroVironment’s patented
“wave-off” feature and recommit capability delivers the unique
ability for operators to cancel an attack within seconds of impact
to avoid collateral damage, and then re-engage targets on command.
In addition, each system’s small form factor, and low acoustic,
visual, and thermal signature make them difficult to detect,
recognize or track even at close range.
Switchblade 300
Weighing just 5.5 pounds (2.5 kilogram), Switchblade 300 is
back-packable and can be deployed in less than 2 minutes via the
launch tube in which it is transported, which can be easily
integrated into land, air or sea platforms. Once airborne,
Switchblade 300 can be remotely piloted or autonomously guided,
providing up to 15 minutes of tactical reconnaissance, surveillance
and target acquisition (RSTA). Real-time video and cursor-on-target
GPS coordinates provide situational awareness, information
collection, targeting and feature/object recognition. Combining a
dash speed of 100 mph with an advanced munition delivery,
Switchblade 300 provides the warfighter with quick response and
precise target prosecution against static or mobile threats, with
low collateral damage.
Switchblade 600
This all-in-one, man portable, 50-pound (22.7 kilogram) solution
includes everything needed to launch, fly, track and engage non
line-of-sight targets with lethal effects and can be set up and
operational in less than 10 minutes. Switchblade 600 deploys from
the launch tube in which it is transported to allow the flexibility
for ground, air or vehicle platform launches at extended stand-off
range. This provides operators with superior force overmatch, while
minimizing exposure to direct or indirect enemy fires. With a 115
mph dash speed and on-board anti-armor warhead, Switchblade 600 has
the firepower to engage and prosecute hardened static and moving
light armored vehicles from multiple angles with precise localized
effects, while minimizing collateral damage.
Equipped with a high-performance EO/IR gimbaled sensor suite,
precision flight control and more than 40 minutes of flight time,
Switchblade 600 delivers unprecedented tactical reconnaissance,
surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA). This allows Switchblade
600 to transit up to 50 miles (80 kilometers) to a target area
before conducting multiple confirmatory orbits, and engage in
target prosecution – without the need for external ISR or fires
assets. Should non-combatants be observed within the proximity of
the target, Switchblade’s patented “wave-off” feature and recommit
capability allows operators to abort the mission at any time, and
then re-engage either the same or other targets multiple times
based on operator command.
Also new with Switchblade 600, AeroVironment introduces a
touch-screen, tablet-based Fire Control System (FCS) with
tap-to-target guidance and the option to pilot the loitering
missile manually or autonomously. Combined with its built-in
mission planner and training simulator, the FCS provides operators
with an intuitive platform to easily plan and execute missions
precisely, while reducing cognitive load. Additionally, on-board
AES 256 digital encryption and SAASM GPS provide the security,
resilient communications and signal integrity necessary to defend
against electronic warfare capabilities employed by peer and
near-peer adversaries in contested environments.
“Switchblade 600 delivers an unprecedented combination of
precision, control and effects on target, addressing missions
previously performed with ‘fire and forget’ legacy missile systems
that represented more than $1 billion in U.S. Department of Defense
procurement appropriations in fiscal year 2020,” added Mr. Nawabi.
“The result of our continued innovation at the intersection of
robotics, sensors, software analytics and connectivity, Switchblade
600 offers next generation capabilities to our customers for
operations against any adversary, in any threat environment.”
When precision counts, AeroVironment’s family of loitering
missile systems provide the actionable intelligence and precision
firepower needed to achieve mission success in a wide range of
increasingly complex battlefronts. Flexibly deployed from fixed
ground positions, combat vehicles with integrated precision fire
controls, aerial or maritime platforms, AeroVironment’s loitering
missile systems provide field commanders with precision lethality
across multiple domains.
AeroVironment is now accepting orders for Switchblade 300 and
Switchblade 600, with expected delivery in 2021. For more
information on AeroVironment’s loitering missile systems, visit
www.avinc.com/tms.
About AeroVironment Tactical Missile Systems
Switchblade® 300, Switchblade® 600 and Blackwing™ form the basis
of AeroVironment’s emerging family of tactical missile systems.
Switchblade 300 is a back-packable, rapidly deployable, precision
strike loitering missile for beyond line-of-sight targets that
minimizes collateral damage and can be tube-launched from land, sea
or air platforms. Switchblade 600 is a man-portable, rapidly
deployable, extended-range precision strike loitering missile for
use against non line-of-sight hardened targets. Blackwing is a
variant of Switchblade, designed to provide rapid-response
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities and can
be launched from surface vessels, submerged submarines and unmanned
underwater vehicles. Switchblade 300 and Blackwing are compatible
with AeroVironment’s Multipack Launcher (MPL), an all-weather
remotely operated launch battery that can be integrated into land,
shipboard or mobile operations. For more information, visit
www.avinc.com/tms.
About AeroVironment, Inc.
AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) provides technology solutions at
the intersection of robotics, sensors, software analytics and
connectivity that deliver more actionable intelligence so you can
proceed with certainty. Celebrating 50 years of innovation,
AeroVironment is a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems and
tactical missile systems, and serves defense, government and
commercial customers. For more information, visit
www.avinc.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements in this press release may constitute
"forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are made
on the basis of current expectations, forecasts and assumptions
that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited
to, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors
outside of our control, that may cause our business, strategy or
actual results to differ materially from those expressed or
implied. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, our ability to perform under existing contracts and
obtain additional contracts; changes in the regulatory environment;
the activities of competitors; failure of the markets in which we
operate to grow; failure to expand into new markets; failure to
develop new products or integrate new technology with current
products and uncertainty in the customer adoption rate of such
products; and general economic and business conditions in the
United States and elsewhere in the world. For a further list and
description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports we
file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not intend,
and undertake no obligation, to update any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005675/en/
AeroVironment, Inc. Makayla Thomas +1 (805) 520-8350
pr@avinc.com Mark Boyer For AeroVironment, Inc. +1 (310) 229-5956
mark@boyersyndicate.com
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