AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Published: 17 Oct 2011 19:30
Courtesy Of "Defense News"
WASHINGTON - A miniature "kamikaze" drone designed to quietly hover in the sky before dive-bombing and slamming into a human target will soon be part of the U.S. Army's arsenal, officials say.
Dubbed the "Switchblade," the robotic aircraft represents the latest attempt by the United States to refine how it takes out suspected militants.
Weighing less than two kilos, the drone is small enough to fit into a soldier's backpack and is launched from a tube, with wings quickly folding out as it soars into the air, according to manufacturer AeroVironment.
Powered by a small electric motor, the Switchblade transmits video in real time from overhead, allowing a soldier to identify an enemy, the company said in a press release last month.
"Upon confirming the target using the live video feed, the operator then sends a command to the air vehicle to arm it and lock its trajectory onto the target," it said.
The drone then flies into the "target," detonating a small explosive.
The California-based firm also said the drone can be called off at the last moment, even after a kill mission has been ordered. That feature provides troops with "a level of control not available in other weapon systems," it said.
The United States currently uses larger Predator and Reaper drones to hunt down suspected militants in Pakistan and elsewhere.
The robotic planes fire powerful Hellfire missiles and drop heavy bombs that can cause civilian casualties and extensive damage, which has fueled popular anger with the United States in Pakistan.
In the war in Afghanistan, U.S. and coalition troops fighting the Taliban can call in artillery fire or air strikes from fighter jets and attack helicopters. But the heavy firepower has been blamed by Afghan leaders for claiming the lives of innocent civilians and strained U.S. relations with Kabul.
The Switchblade, however, is touted as a way to avoid killing bystanders.
"Flying quietly at high speed the Switchblade delivers its onboard explosive payload with precision while minimizing collateral damage," the company said.
The U.S. Army in June approved a $4.9 million contract for AeroVironment to supply the new drones as soon as possible. Officials have not said how many Switchblade drones were ordered or when the robotic weapons would make into the hands of U.S. forces.
Human rights groups have raised concerns that the use of drones by the CIA has allowed the conduct of a secret assassination campaign abroad without public scrutiny and little oversight by lawmakers in Congress.
U.S. Deploys Kamikaze Drones To Attack Afghan Taliban Targets
By Tony Capaccio
Oct 19, 2011 12:01 AM ET
Courtesy Of "Bloomberg News"
U.S. Army and Air Force special operations forces have used miniature kamikaze drones against Taliban targets and plan to renew the attacks next year, according to documents and an Army official.
The tube-launched Switchblade drone, made by Monrovia, California-based Aerovironment Inc. (AVAV), was secretly sent to Afghanistan for the first time last year. “Under a dozen” were fired, said Army Deputy Product Director William Nichols.
“It’s been used in Afghanistan by military personnel” and “shown to be effective,” Nichols said. The drone’s GPS guidance is made byRockwell Collins Inc. (COL) and the warhead by Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK)
Disclosure of the Switchblade’s use in Afghanistan highlights the Pentagon’s expanding range of missions for remotely piloted aircraft. The fleet also includes broad-area surveillance aircraft such as theNorthrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) Global Hawk, the missile-firing General Atomics Co. Predator and Reaper drones, and hand-launched short-range surveillance models, such as the Aerovironment Raven.
Nichols declined to describe the Switchblade’s targets. He said the drone is “designed for open threats, something that’s on top of a building but you can’t hit it” with regular artillery or mortars for fear of collateral damage. The drone is less than 24 inches long and weighs about six pounds.
“It’s a ‘flying shotgun,’” Nichols said, not a “hit-to- kill” weapon that explodes on impact.
“The operator has control of how far away from the target it goes off -- preselected distances,” he said in an interview Oct. 12 at the Association of the U.S. Army conference in Washington.
Into Shallow Caves
An Army fact sheet said the drone could be used against snipers, insurgents placing roadside bombs and those hiding on ridge lines, under rock overhangs and or in shallow caves.
Nichols said the first deployment laid the groundwork for another fielding early next year. He declined to identify what units requested the additional Switchblades.
Nichols said the Army is evaluating the results and may pursue a larger program, which would be open to competition.
Other potential targets are moving vehicles that can be tracked during the aircraft’s roughly 10 minutes of flight. It covers up to 20 kilometers, flying at about 500 feet. “It’s clearly not designed for armor,” he said.
Aerovironment announced at the AUSA convention a previous $4.9 million Army contract. It didn’t disclose the drone’s prior Afghanistan use.
Commando’s Drone
The Combined Forces Special Operations Command in October 2010 requested an additional 11 drones for use by Army and Air Force commandos, saying the drone “enhances the small unit’s ability to quickly identify and precisely engage combatants in rugged terrain.”
Fielding additional so-called Lethal Miniature Aerial Munitions “will enhance operations designed to deny insurgents access to the Afghanistan population,” Army Special Forces Colonel Donald Bolduc wrote in his previously undisclosed October 2010 request.
Bolduc, in his “operational needs statement” obtained by Bloomberg News, said recent operations “have demonstrated the need for a lightweight, precision-guided aerial munitions system to locate and neutralize enemy positions.”
Bolduc said the system will be used by small units of Army and Air Force Special Operations Command personnel “operating in complex urban terrain.”
Lethal Precision
The small size allows an individual to “carry, launch, maneuver in all terrain, and engage stationary and fleeting targets in the open or defending positions within building, bunker or mountainous regions while minimizing collateral damage.”
“Such positions are extremely difficult to neutralize” and U.S. forces run a “high risk” of killing civilians with current weapons such as the new MK47 “advanced lightweight grenade launcher,” M3 Carl-Gustaf recoilless rifle and AT-4 rocket launcher, Bolduc wrote.
“Given rules of engagement and the constraints of urban terrain, a lethal capability must be precise in order to minimize collateral damage,” wrote Bolduc, who is now assistant deputy director for special operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon.
Miniature Kamikaze Drones - Switchblade
A miniature "kamikaze" drone designed to quietly hover in the sky before dive-bombing and slamming into a human target will soon be part of the US Army's arsenal, officials say.
Dubbed the "Switchblade," the robotic aircraft represents the latest attempt by the United States to refine how it takes out suspected militants.
Weighing less than two kilos, the drone is small enough to fit into a soldier's backpack and is launched from a tube, with wings quickly folding out as it soars into the air, according to manufacturer AeroVironment.
Powered by a small electric motor, the Switchblade transmits video in real time from overhead, allowing a soldier to identify an enemy, the company said in a press release last month.
"Upon confirming the target using the live video feed, the operator then sends a command to the air vehicle to arm it and lock its trajectory onto the target," it said.
The drone then flies into the "target," detonating a small explosive
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