AeroVironment has received a $186 million delivery order from the U.S. Army for next-generation Switchblade loitering munition systems, the first major procurement under the service’s Lethal Unmanned Systems initiative and the first Switchblade order to include explosively formed penetrator (EFP) payloads.
Announced February 26, the award covers Switchblade 600 Block 2 and Switchblade 300 Block 20 systems equipped with EFP warheads. The order is being placed against the Army’s existing five-year, $990 million Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS), which was awarded in August 2024. The delivery order represents the Army’s first procurement of AV’s “next-generation” Switchblade product line for infantry and maneuver formations.
Switchblade 600 Block 2 is described as AeroVironment’s most advanced long-range loitering munition to date, designed for multi-domain operations and ruggedized for maritime and other highly contested environments. Developed in collaboration with U.S. Special Operations Command, the Block 2 variant adds upgraded avionics and Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) to speed detection, identification and engagement of targets. Integrated resilient communications, including Silvus MANET radios, are intended to support distributed operations, extended hand-off ranges and employment in GPS-challenged environments.
Switchblade 300 Block 20 brings a new modular payload architecture to the backpackable, small-unit loitering munition. For the first time, the Army is buying the system with an EFP payload, increasing lethality against armored targets while retaining the portability and ease of use associated with earlier Switchblade 300 variants. The Block 20 configuration also introduces sensor upgrades, refined user interfaces and extended-range options for engaging targets beyond line of sight.
Together, the two variants are pitched as a scalable family of precision, one-way attack UAS—from single-operator weapons to longer-endurance, multi-domain systems—intended to operate across echelons and mission sets. AeroVironment said the order advances the Army’s Lethal Unmanned Systems Directed Requirement and that it is investing in added manufacturing capacity and shorter delivery timelines to meet growing demand for loitering munitions from U.S. and allied forces.
