The American company AeroVironment has signed an agreement with a Ukrainian company to localize the Switchblade 600. The agreement was signed at the International Defense Industries Forum in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian company is not named for security reasons.
Brett Hush, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AeroVironment’s Barrage Strike Systems Division, shared in a comment to Militarnyi that cooperation with the Ukrainian company will be phased.
“It will start with basically sending subsystem components… So, it will start with a very simple integration. And then over time, we will localize more and more systems and improve the system so that it becomes better than it is today,” he said.
Now, the agreement has to be approved by the US government, and both countries are working on it. It may take about nine months. As for the volume of future production, the figure is not specified. At the same time, Brett Hush noted that it should be several thousand Switchblade 600s per year.
He noted that the Ukrainian military is not using the Switchblade 600 loitering munition as planned. Initially, this weapon was provided to U.S. Special Forces for irregular warfare and engaging moving targets.
The Ukrainian military uses these weapons to hit targets worth $20-25 million, such as the Pantsir missile system or S-300 air defense systems.
“There are some impressive videos in open sources. I think it’s really important that although it is an anti-tank missile, the same one used in the Javelin, it is not used in Ukraine against tanks. The Russians can replace tanks on a regular basis. But they can’t replace expensive air defense systems because they have a limited number of technicians to work with the electronics,” said Brett Hush.
The AeroVironment representative also noted that the company is working on simplifying Switchblade’s operation. Brett Hush noted that there is different feedback on the effectiveness of the application from different departments. However, the result can be improved with the help of training, which should be carried out directly in Ukraine.
“In accordance with US policy, training is carried out outside Ukraine. So operators have to travel to Poland, where we have the right to conduct training, or to other places outside of Ukraine. We are trying to lobby our government to get permission for instructors to come to Ukraine. I have a few people now, but they can’t teach. They can only listen and get feedback. I think it will make a big difference if we simplify the process,” added Brett Hush.
In August of this year, it became known that the United States had placed an order to purchase Switchblade 600 worth about $1 billion.
Source: MILITARNYI