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Switchblade Loitering Munition

The AeroVironment Switchblade is a miniature loitering munition, designed by AeroVironment and used by several branches of the United States military, British Army and Ukraine defence forces. Small enough to fit in a backpack, the Switchblade launches from a tube, flies to the target area, and crashes into its target while detonating its explosive warhead. The name switchblade comes from the way the spring-loaded wings are folded up inside a tube and flip out once released.

The Switchblade is capable of Automatic target recognition and engagement and also allows the use of manual aiming or complete manual drone control.

This mod adds both the Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600 to Arma for the BLUFOR and INDFOR factions.

Tested and developed by https://gladio.gg


The Switchblade 300 is designed as a loitering munitions UAV it is small and light enough for one soldier to carry.

It can be controlled up to 10 km .Endurance is ~10 minutes. Can be used for scouting or for its main purpose as a hunter killer drone. The Switchblade uses a colour camera and GPS locating to identify, track, and engage targets, as well as being able to be manually targeted and controlled. Its warhead has an explosive charge equivalent to a 40mm grenade to destroy light armoured vehicles and personnel. If a situation causes a strike to be called off, the operator can call off the Switchblade and re-target it.

Warhead: 40mm HEDP (anti personnel/light armor)

• Endurance: ~10min
  
• Max range: 10km
  
• Cruise speed: 110km/h
  
• Max speed: 160 km/h
  
• Turret type: gimbal, up to 30deg traverse/elevation
  
• Optics: VIS, NVG & TI

The Switchblade 300 can be configured to detonate on impact or in airburst mode, with distances of either 10m or 20m from the target. This can be done either using the scroll menu actions while controlling a Switchblade 300, or through the UAV terminal.


The larger Switchblade 600 loitering munition weighs ~23 kg and is man-portable. It is designed to fly out to 40 km in 20 minutes, then loiter for another 20 minutes. carrying an ATGM warhead based on the Javelin ATGM, designed to neutralise armoured vehicles.

Warhead: Javelin ATGM (anti tank)

• Endurance: ~40min
  
• Max range: 40km
  
• Cruise speed: 110km/h
  
• Max speed: 185 km/h
  
• Turret type: gimbal, 360deg
  
• Optics: VIS, NVG & TI

The Switchblade is launched from a tube. Tubes can be found in the “misc” section of the Arsenal. Current tubes are:

• Switchblade 300 Launch Tube (Desert)
  
• Switchblade 300 Launch Tube (Woodland)
  
• Switchblade 600 Launch Tube (Desert)
  
• Switchblade 300 Launch Tube (Woodland)

Once added to the inventory, an option called “Deploy Switchblade <number>” (e.g. “Deploy Switchblade 300”) will appear in the Action (scroll wheel) menu. Once deployed, entering the launch tube as gunner and firing will launch the respective Switchblade at a 45 deg angle. If ACE is present, these actions will be in the ACE Self Interact menu instead.

Unfired tubes can be disassembled back into folded tubes on the ground by using the “Disassemble” action (scroll wheel menu) on the tube. If ACE is present, this actions will be in the ACE Interact menu instead.

Targets can either be manually locked or assigned through the UAV terminal. All targets will be tracked once they’re within 750m of the munition, and are visible to the munition (not behind a structure, thick tree cover, or smoke).

Manual locking is enabled when in the gunner view of the munition. Targets can then be selected by either pressing the “Lock Target” or “Lase Target” keybind (as in vanilla Arma 3).

Current keybinds are:

• Manually lock target: Target Lock Key for vehicles
  
• Clear target: Currently no keybind (scroll wheel menu action)

Manually locking a target will make the Switchblade track and destroy the selected target. A red diamond will appear on-screen to confirm the selected target.

Switchblades can be self-destructed at any point by using the "Destroy" button on the UAV terminal. This will make the Switchblade explode.

The Switchblade can additionally accept target waypoints, assigned either through the UAV terminal or through Zeus:

• SEEK AND DESTROY: the Switchblade will seek the closest (enemy or empty) target from the waypoint’s position, in a 750m radius, and track and destroy it
  
• DESTROY: the Switchblade will track and destroy the assigned unit (or the unit closest to the DESTROY waypoint)

In all targeting modes, the Switchblade will follow the targeted unit, flying above it, and then diving down for the final attack once close enough (in a top-down fashion).

The target can be cleared by using the “Clear target” action when controlling the munition, or by assigning a non-target waypoint (e.g. MOVE, LOITER) if there’s no manual target selected.

• CBA

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)


This mod and its authors are in no way endorsed, supported by or otherwise affiliated to AeroVironment or the Switchblade project.
We do however support its use :)

• Zeus cannot use manual targeting when remote controlling the drone. To get around this, the Zeus player should equip a UAV terminal and connect to the drone through the UAV terminal.