America will deliver to Ukraine explosive "Switchblade" drones.. it knows its capabilities

The British Economist magazine confirmed that Ukraine will get 100 explosive American drones with special capabilities to counter the Russian attack, and the “Switchblade” drone weighs 2.5 kilograms and can fly at a speed of up to 160 kilometers per hour when attacking the target.

The British Economist magazine said that Ukraine will receive explosive marches with special capabilities to counter the Russian attack, as part of a new US military aid package.

The "Switchblade" drone falls under the category of "loitering" weapons, a term given to this type of explosive weapon that does not hit the target after it is identified but rather "loites" to search for the target and then targets it.

Washington recently agreed to supply Kyiv with 100 “Switchblades” as part of a new set of weapons, which also includes 800 “Stinger” anti-aircraft missiles, 2,000 “Javelin” anti-tank missiles, 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition and 25,000 sets of helmets and protective shields. According to Agence France-Presse.

The Economist magazine says that the "Switchblade" is a small aircraft with wings that are remotely controlled, and equipped with an electric propeller that pushes it to travel at a speed of 100 km per hour and can fly for 15 minutes.

The aircraft is equipped with an optical camera and an infrared thermal imager that gives an accurate image of the targets to the operator who controls it by means of a tablet computer.

The operator can review video clips of the targets, and when he finds a target he wants to deal with, he makes the plane accelerate towards it at a speed of up to 160 kilometers per hour and hit it.

What distinguishes the "Switch Blader" from the portable anti-tank missile "Javlin" is that it is more accurate and smaller. For "Javelin", the target should be selected before launching the missile, while the "Switchblade" can fly to an environment rich in targets and then the operator chooses the target he wants Target it, which makes it more accurate.

It also weighs only about 2.5 kg compared to about 20 kg for the "Javelin" and has a range of 10 kilometers which is more than double the range of the "Javelin" which is only four kilometers.

The magazine says it can be carried in a small backpack and deployed when needed with minimal training.

Although it is unable to penetrate tank armor, it functions effectively as a grenade against unarmored vehicles and personnel.

This means they can be used against artillery batteries, according to Nick Reynolds, an analyst at the British defense firm Rusi, a factor that may now be important to counter Russian artillery bombardment of cities.

Robert Bunker, director of research and analysis at CO Futures, says that the accuracy of this small march allows focus on high-value targets, not just artillery, such as headquarters and artillery unit command vehicles.

The close-up view provided by the camera and thermal imaging means that targets can be carefully selected and means that the attack range on Russian vehicles and units can be extended far beyond the user's eyes.

Another advantage of the Switch Blader is the ability of the operator to stop the attack if, while the aircraft is approaching the target, it realizes that something has gone wrong.