U.S. Army Orders more Switchblade 300 Systems

Aerovironment said it won a U.S. Army contract to provide additional Switchblade 300 tactical missile systems.

The $44.96 million contract is part of the Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) programme. It covers includes the first approved foreign military sales (FMS) export of Switchblade 300 to an undisclosed allied nation. It increases the total value of the contract to approximately $122.5 million, it said in a statement April 20.

The U.S. Army Contracting Command (ACC) – Redstone Arsenal and the U.S. DoD FMS programme are managing the contract option. The company won the original LMAMS contract in 2011.

On April 22, the company said it received a $13 million order on March 24, 2021 for Switchblade 300 logistics support. The contract has a total potential value of $40.8 million, for which funding was authorized via a DoD-approved Joint Urgent Operational Need Statement. Logistics support services are scheduled to be delivered through March 2024.

AeroVironment’s Switchblade 300 is back-packable and rapidly deployable from ground platforms, including a multipack launcher, providing warfighters with rapid-response force protection and precision strike capabilities up to 10 km from its launch location. Its high precision, combined with specialized effects and patented “wave-off” feature, results in Switchblade’s ability to minimize or even eliminate collateral damage.