Hundreds of Switchblade suicide drones have been sent to Ukraine with aid from the United States. This kamikaze drone has also competed on the battlefield and is claimed to be the specter of the Russian army.
In a video circulating on social media, Ukrainian soldiers were seen targeting Russian tanks and then launching drones. The drone was shot at a Russian tank, then crashed into it.
After that, as quoted by us from Newsweek, Wednesday (25/5/2022) saw white smoke steaming from the target. The tank crew appears to have been killed in this attack.
"The Ukrainian army published a rare video of a suicide drone in action, which we identified as a U.S.-supplied Switchblade 300, crashing into a Russian T-72B3 tank with a crew on it," Ukraine Weapons Tracker wrote.
#Ukraine: Ukrainian SSO (SOF) published rare footage of a kamikaze drone in action, which we identied as a US-supplied Switchblade 300-hitting a Russian T-72B3 tank with its crew on top.
The tank is unlikely to receive any serious damage, which cannot be said about the crew. pic.twitter.com/sRm5GQNRyL
- 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) May 24, 2022
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"The tank does not appear to have suffered serious damage, but the crew does appear to have had another fate," they added on Twitter.
Switchblade may have been in action a lot in Ukraine, but perhaps only this time it was recorded in video form. This Switchblade drone is made by AeroVironment and is one of the mainstays of the US military.
He was nicknamed the 'kamikaze' drone or suicide drone because it could hit the target with a high explosive head so that both were destroyed.
The small enough Switchblade 300 is designed to target human personnel, while the larger Switchblade 600 is intended to destroy tanks and similar vehicles.
The smaller Switchblade 300 drone, measuring 610 mm and weighing 2.7 kilograms, was small enough to be carried by the army. Its wings are folded and only expand in the air. It can be operated up to a distance of 10 kilometers.
The Switchblade can be programmed to automatically head to a target that is at a location quite far away. This suicide drone can also maneuver first while waiting for the right time to crash.