Lithuania wants to purchase, along with HIMARS and ATACMS, a set of Switchblade 600 anti-tank kamikaze drones
Lithuania wants to arm not only the highly mobile M142 HIMARS artillery systems, but also AeroVironment's kamikaze drones.
Here's What We Know
We are talking about Switchblade 600 bomber ammunition. This was announced by Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas, who was recently in the US and signed an agreement to purchase eight HIMARS missile systems with munitions, including ATACMS.
The Switchblade 600 is essentially a Javelin missile disguised as a kamikaze drone. The hovering munition is aimed at destroying enemy heavy equipment and tanks at a range of up to 40 km. The mass of the drone is 23 kg.
Switchblade 600 is capable of flying at a speed of 185 km/h. The maximum flight time of the bomber is 40 minutes.
The cost of the possible contract and batch size is not specified yet. But it is known that in case of purchase Lithuania will become the second Switchblade 600 operator after the USA. But let's not forget that a few months ago the Pentagon promised to send 10 barrage munitions to Ukraine. They have not yet been delivered. If we judge by the official statements of the two countries.
Source: LRT