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switchblade

U.S. Military Using Lightweight Mini-drones Launched from Battlefield

on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 8:44pm

 

Switchblade 'loitering munition' weighing under six pounds can be carried in a backpack and used in place of an air strike

By Jonathan Franklin

12 June 2012
 

The US military has issued soldiers in Afghanistan with a new class of lightweight unmanned drone known as the Switchblade, which can be carried in a backpack and used on the battlefield in place of an air strike.

The Switchblade, manufactured by the AeroVironment Corporation in Monrovia, California, weighs just under six pounds (2.7kg) and can be rapidly launched and sent over the nearest ridge to circle above the battlefield