U.S. company AeroVironment to produce Switchblade 600 munitions in Ukraine

As reported by Militarnyi, the agreement was finalized at the International Forum of Defense Industries (DFNC2) in Kyiv, although the name of the Ukrainian partner was not disclosed for security reasons.

Brett Hush, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AeroVironment's Loitering Munition Systems Division, stated that the cooperation will be phased.

“It will begin with the shipment of subsystem components, starting with basic integration. Over time, we’ll localize more systems and enhance the overall complexity to improve it beyond its current capabilities,” Hush said.

The signed agreement must be approved by the U.S. government, and both countries are currently working on this process, which may take about nine months. While the exact volume of future production is still unclear, Brett Hush indicated that it could reach several thousand Switchblade 600s per year.

Hush also pointed out that the Ukrainian military is not using the Switchblade 600 loitering munitions as originally intended. Initially designed for U.S. Special Forces to conduct irregular warfare and engage moving targets, the Ukrainian military has instead deployed this weapon to strike high-value targets worth $20-25 million, such as Pantsyr or S-300 air defense systems.

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