Thread 64393667

Switchblade 400 is here. It slashes weight to 39 pounds, keeps the Javelin warhead, range, gimbaled optic and loiter time.
Sub 40 pounds is Javelin replacement territory and they're selling it for the US army's LASSO contract. The 60lb S600 was fine for a vehicle but simply not viable for a normal infantry platoon on foot.

>>64393667 (OP)
Holy fuck the entire MIC is dropping new shit like they're one upping each other. This is what, the 5th drop today?

>>64393667 (OP)
>Switchblade 400 is a rocket-launched, medium range, man-portable loitering munition engineered for decisive battlefield overmatch. Designed to defeat tanks and heavy armor, it delivers lethal standoff effects with pinpoint precision in contested environments. With 35 minutes of endurance, Switchblade 400 enables rapid target acquisition and high-confidence strikes against both fixed and moving threats.
>Weighing under 40 lb, this all-Up-Round (AUR) can be carried and deployed by a single soldier in under five minutes, ensuring mobility and responsiveness at the tactical edge. Equipped with Aided Target Recognition and advanced edge computing, Switchblade 400 autonomously detects and classifies targets day or night, accelerating the kill chain. The system seamlessly integrates with ATAK via the Common Controller Grip TA5 and is Nett Warrior compliant

My take: this is the kind of Western conventional/peer-war drone everyone actually expected/wanted.

>>64393680
35 minutes seems kind of short for 40 lb, is the warhead that heavy?

>>64393691
It's the same Javelin warhead from the S600. About 7 pounds IIRC.

>>64393680
The 300 was clearly a GWOT product that wouldn't be useful outside of the particulars of that style of COIN. Giving this an actual warhead is making it useful while being lighter than the 600.

Aerovironment also had three other releases: an upgrade to the VAPOR electric helicopter drone to compete with Anduril's Ghost-X, making the Block 20 EFP warhead for S300 public (but if you know you already knew), and a Block 20 upgrade for the Switchblade 600 which adds anti-jam GPS, a AI processor for terrain following & ATR, and more loiter time to extend the range past 100km.

There are videos out there showing the S400 launch. It adds a JATO style rocket booster, which I think is how they managed to cut the system weight - less pressure in the pyro launch tube so it can be lighter.

>>64393708
Yes, it's been integrated into ATAK, Kinesis, Nett Warrior, and other BMS's too.

>>64393679
AUSA 2025 started today

So how will it do against Russians? It will be tested in Ukraine right?

>>64393862
>cinematic: https://www.avinc.com/lms/switchblade-400
IDK, the S600 is popular in Ukraine as a anti-EW/AA-truck weapon.

>>64393708
I think there's still room for a 300 sized offering, but with aggressive cost reduction measures and a proper omnidirectional blast-frag warhead

>>64394240
A directional frag does the same damage to targets in the open with 80% less weight. Obviously an omni warhead has better general-purpose use (like for hitting inside a room) but its in conflict with a lightweight long range design.

>>64393680
I remember the Ukrainians said they liked the 600, but there were very few of them.
It's a nice improvement but I hope they can shit em out fast.

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2025/10/13/aerovironment-eyes-new-factory-drone-launches-for-switchblade/
>In late 2026 or early 2027, Young said, AeroVironment plans to open a new production facility in Salt Lake City. That facility will one day produce even more than AeroVironment’s primary production facility in Los Angeles does, he said, and allow the company to boost its monthly Switchblade production from around 500 to several thousand.
Big if true.

>>64393667 (OP)
>another westoid wunderwaffen that has a price in the 6 digit range and will be produced in framceuticall quantities in the next 50 years
Fpvs cost from 200 to 6000$ have ranges from 2-50km and are being produced in the millions.
This is just another grift to rip off the retarded mutt taxpayer.

>>64394265
Sure, but the current low-collateral directional warhead is completely unsuited for a conventional war, given that it was designed to kill hadjis hiding out near civilians. Range will suffer, but in its current state the thing is just not a very useful tool for anything other than its original purpose.

>>64393667 (OP)
I remember posting in a thread about this.

>>64393708
Switchblade 300 is an incredible capability. It's by far the best way of defeating enemy mortar and MG team's without calling for inorganic fire support. Like an ultralight mortar that's also a recon drone.
>>64394240
>>64394265
Switchblade 300 Block 20 has an EFP multipurpose warhead and other upgrades, likely implementing lessons learned in Ukraine. They also announced an upgraded Switchblade 600 with the SB400 release.

>>64394353
A recent Ukrainian source claimed that for an expenditure of approximately 36 million dollars worth of Switchblades they've destroyed Russian equipment equal to an estimated 2.7 billion

>>64394353
>Blah blah blah more thirdie cope
In poker terms a $100k platform that has a 90% chance of destroying a target is +EV to that of a $6000 platform that has a 80% chance.

>>64394353
>NASA spent a billion dollars making single pen while Russia used a 1 cent pencil

>>64393667 (OP)
What's the per unit procurement cost for the bugger?

>>64394870
Ukrainians have been using Switchblades to hunt Russian jamming equipment so they can then operate FPV drones to the area. It's not a matter of the market value of the loitering munition compared to the market value of the EW set, it's a matter of destroying a tactically important target with a tool they have available that's capable of it.

>>64394905
Russia doesn't use pencils in space, they'd end up with graphite floating around and causing electrical fires. They use normal ball point pens.

>>64394992
They just bought pens from the US

>>64394992
>They use normal ball point pens.
You realize ink in a normal pen relies on gravity right?

>>64394998
No, they just use normal bic pens. You don't actually need a Fisher© Space Pen™ to write in space, normal pens work.

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Cervantes_Mission/Pedro_Duque_s_diary_from_space

>>64394998
Both the US and USSR bought space pens from the same private company that spent just $10m adjusted dollars to develop the thing independently.
Before that they both used pencils.

>>64395022
No, they factually bought space pens from the US https://web.archive.org/web/20141030080048/http://www.thewritersedge.com/story.cfm

>>64395022
Normal pens work now because it's not 1965 anymore.
Those old shitty ones would spit even on earth.

>>64395042
They may have bought some, but there's literally a first hand account right there from a European astronaut saying that his Russian instructor just uses a normal ball point in space, and he confirmed it by bringing his own normal ball point into space and writing that diary entry with it.

>>64395056
In 1965, ballpoint pens were made in the first world and actually fucking worked. Things are going to get even worse soon as China starts making their own ballpoint tips.

>>64395082
There is a 40 year gap between the things we're talking about you fucking moron.

>>64395087
See my second point. Besides, what are the odds that any of the Space Pens ever actually made it into cosmonauts' hands?

>>64395082
https://www.nasa.gov/technology/tech-transfer-spinoffs/space-pens-pencils-and-how-nasa-takes-notes-in-space/
>“The original ballpoints were terrible,” said Cary Fisher, Paul’s son, and current president of the company, which is now located in Boulder City, Nevada. He notes that the early ballpoints tended to leak, skip, and dry up.
Why would NASA (and Russia) immediately buy his product if they could just stop by the mall and pick up some BICs?
Were they stupid?

>>64395094
>See my second point.
That's you pulling shit out of your ass
>Besides, what are the odds that any of the Space Pens ever actually made it into cosmonauts' hands?
That's you pulling shit out of your ass

>>64395094
https://archive.is/86lL
>The Soviet Union also purchased 100 of the Fisher pens, and 1,000 ink cartridges, in February 1969, for use on its Soyuz space flights. Previously, its cosmonauts had been using grease pencils to write in orbit.
>Both American astronauts and Soviet/Russian cosmonauts have continued to use these pens.
What do you have against Fisher?

>>64395110
He thought something sounded reasonable in his head and now he'll die on the hill that his headcanon is fact

>>64395097
>>64395099
>>64395110
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Cervantes_Mission/Pedro_Duque_s_diary_from_space

>>64395122

>>64395087

>>64394986
>>64393894
I've always wondered how the fancy drones defeat jamming. If the jammers blast noise on all frequencies how would the drone defeat the noise? Is it a multi antenna solution like on 'jamming proof ' gps receivers?

>>64393805
Oh no wonder

>>64394854
It was an overly expensive shitheap is what it was

>>64395512
Cutting costs down to ~$20,000 and later ~$10,000 or less would make it a truly incredible weapon. Unfortunately it's still made at bespoke volumes, AV puts out 240 Switcblade 600 munitions a month, up from a measly 40 a month last year.

>>64395528
last i checked they went for $70k, that's simply retarded regardless of how many EW countermeasures you put in it.
modern militaries can shoot down these drones too, there are lasers and airburst munitions, so defeating EW only solves part of the problem, the other part is solved with swarming the enemy with cheap drones, you can't do that with something that has a pricetag like that.
it should be 2-3k usd tops.

>>64395082
There are some okay Chinese fountain pens these days, they will unlock the secrets of the ball point in 2070 or so at this rate

>>64395560
>Modern militaries
So not anyone the West tends to scrap with currently, and maybe China?

>>64394353
Lmao. Now compare the price of this single weapon to the price of a T-90 MBT. Then add on top the operational value of destroying the tank before it even gets to see the enemy (You).

Third worlders are shaking in their boots now that the West has started pushing out genuinely modern weapon systems. They thought they could just use cheap drones to match Western capabilities and have a hope of competing. Guess not.

>>64395560
Switchblade 300s cost around $50,000. These things are hand-fitted in a factory in LA and are barely acquired or used. Good chance that the majority of that price is the government paying for R&D and keeping AV and their patents around. In 2026-2027, they'll have a factory in Salt Lake that will produce several times more units than their LA one, and we'll probably see some economy of scale bringing it down to hopefully around $30,000 at most.

It's not just about EW. The US isn't Russia or Ukraine, they have requirements peculiar to expeditionary warfare.
The Switchblade 300 Block 20 should be a company to squad level asset. It will mostly be used to take out entrenched enemies (think snipers, machine gunners, mortar teams) and lone light armored vehicles. It being shot down is not a credible consideration because air defense just isn't a factor that low in the equation.
"Drone swarms" are not viable either, because they cannot be organic to light infantry elements. Each SB300 all-up round weighs 7.2 lbs including the canvas bag.

Eff pee vees are too fragile, slow, and hard to control to be useful to the US, not to mention the ITAR problems. They're a non-starter.

>>64395621
>should be a company to squad level asset
Company level asset, right next to the company mortars.
Nothing else makes actual sense in conventional warfare.

>>64395632
Certainly nominally and most of the time, it makes the most sense from a logistics and command point of view. But many experts predict that smaller units will act more independently in today's hotter "transparent battlefields." I can see a recon platoon or even squad being given several Switchblades and then providing support while a larger element moves in during a night op.

>>64395657
The heavy&concentrated / light&dispersed split doesn't preclude fire support being kept at the higher levels. It's completely fine for a squad to run around on their own down there on the ground, while the fire support is kept at the company or battalion level, launching drones in support of their efforts. This is pretty much what we're seeing in Ukraine already. Couple guys at the front doing sneaky stuff or dispersed defense, while the drone units work higher up.
Modern communications means that even the guys running dispersed and light have full contact to all the fire support they need.
But also on the other hand, these light and dispersed units can't afford to carry all that fire support around with them, because they have to be light, they have to move, they have to be capable of fire & maneuver completely. And they have to be expendable. The natural outcome is that the fire support is kept at the HQ level, where there is orgranically lesser maneuver capabilities due to all the supply, fire support, communications etc. requirements.

>>64395678
Yeah I agree, wanted to delete my post but 4chan wouldn't let me. But I'm jussayin, loitering munitions could be integrated at the platoon level into the weapons squad or even be made into their own thing, and the USMC is already implementing squad level LMs with their Organic Precision Fires initiative.

>>64395692
>But I'm jussayin, loitering munitions could be integrated at the platoon level into the weapons squad or even be made into their own thing,
That's completely true. A lot of the time in places like Afghanistan, platoon level units operated independently and had to contain everything needed in themselves. So similarly, you could throw the Switchblades in there.
It's just that the rifle platoons as they're commonly used and employed in doctrine are meant to be independently mobile and capable of fire & maneuver on their own. That is, they don't have any parts in them that would hold them back. The entire platoon can be told to attack *that way* and the entire platoon would then go there. The company / battalion can't do that as well, since the supply / fire support are always going to lag behind and need roads.
If you toss a bunch of fire support systems in the platoons, they just become miniature companies, like they were in unconventional warfare in the sandpit. Less mobile, but more independent. Sure, you can do it, but it's more simple to concentrate the command and fire support on a higher level and leave the platoons as the basic unit capable of fire and maneuver.

>>64395700
Yep. I guess the way I'm looking at it is that near-peer infantry warfare won't necessarily have to look "conventional," and might end up being quite guerilla-like with combined arms and sabotage/denial-focused at times, but certainly not always or even most of the time. We might see different types of arrangements depending on the threat level, mission profile, terrain, and access to logistics. More communication and shiny new weapons give you the flexibility of either less or more independence without losing capability, but the enemy's newfound access to unprecedented amounts of ISR and PGMs may limit which approaches are viable.

>>64395754
i.e. when it's very hot, there will be an even bigger divide between light infantry and mechanized infantry. Light infantry cannot carry (respectable) EW, so they must specialize further in the first and second layers of the survivability onion. The low-tech "middle ground" we're accustomed to now can neither carry enough EW/SHORAD nor deliver enough firepower to justify the risk. Advanced technology would give smaller, more discreet and flexible elements enough firepower to compensate for the loss of this middle ground in some domains. Of course, this is not the primary calling of light infantry. All things considered, I don't think it will look all that different most of the time.

>>64394353
>being produced in the millions
Except you cannot use these $200 FPVs en masse because of bandwidth crowding. You get at most six guys per side using their drones before issues occur. Shit like Spiderweb was done in waves to avoid bandwidth crowding (and thus crashing and even then two trucks failed due to various issues). You might have a million $200 FPV drones, but you cannot use them all at once, the idea of 'swarming' with cheap $200 drones is a myth. The only way you can do true 'swarms' is by spending a lot of money and time developing the tech to do it. Each drone needs to have its own bandwidth signal and connect to each other and the controller and if a connection is lost to immediately connect to a friendly drone nearby in order not to fall out of formation. This costs money and time and skills and resources to make and won't be $200 each. But then you still cannot use $200 drones en masse on a front, you can over a wide area, but each AO has an extreme limit of drone usages. Before you screech
>b-b-but videos show many drones!
Those are done over hours. Few drones hit things, another wave comes and hits things. There is 20-30 min gaps between the two. On top of that, for every video you see of a drone hitting a tank there is 100 drones that didn't get to the target.

Confirmation bias rules for thirdies. They see FPV drone videos raping Russian columns and thinks that you is the state of play 100% of the time and not a lucky day for Ukraine where there wasn't issues and they hit a good target and recorded it.

>>64395041
>Before that they both used pencils.
Grease pencils, not graphite pencils.

>>64394353
The development cycle on this is getting pretty fast. Every version is better and we are now seeing more utility than flying IEDs. Are you scared?

>>64395236
>If the jammers blast noise on all frequencies

Only the bad jammers do this. Those are very short range and very power hungry.

>Grease pencils
Soooooo, crayons?

>>64393667 (OP)
They need to make it cheaper

>>64395236
Better SDRs and antennae, M-code GPS, INS, encrypted frequency hopping datalink are all things used on the Block 20 Switchblade. It also has an autonomous terminal phase which helps for shadow fading and mounted jammers. I have read someone online say that the first version was designed to "wave off" (pitch up and go back to loitering) if it lost signal while diving for a strike, which is rather counterproductive for real wars. The first gen Switchblades were actually pretty easily jammed. They were designed for Afghanistan after all.

>>64395236
Switchblades are designed to keep a human in the loop if possible, but they can be programmed to select targets autonomously if they're jammed. Jamming attacks the link between the pilot and the drone, if there's no link needed them jamming is ineffective.

>>64395953
>>64395986
Should be mentioned that all American loiterting munitions (Switchblade, Teledyne FLIR Rogue 1, Anduril Bolt, etc) have autonomous pilotage and broad systems integration, which is probably what most sets them apart from hacked-together FPV shit doctrinally. No matter how lightweight, durable, and EW resistant FPVs get, they'll always need a highly skilled operator fondling a joystick for 10 minutes at a time vs. proper LMs with gimbaled thermals, waypoint sharing through datalink, tap-to-target flight planning, and adjustable auto dive angles.