How Lethal are the Kamikaze Switchblade Drones that the U.S. Just Gave Ukraine?

A week and a half ago, the Biden administration announced a new $800 million package of lethal military assistance to the besieged country of Ukraine.

We now know that among the weapon systems included are 100 Switchblade loitering munitions, a kind of “piloted missile” ideal for anti-personnel strikes.

But how lethal are Switchblades and will Ukraine be able to make use of them?

It must be a glorious time to be an infantryman. Back in my day (mid-2000s) night vision was our highest tech piece of equipment. Today, grunts can launch and fly munitions, beyond line of sight, using an iPad, and strike enemy formations with silent, deadly precision.

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Graham Rouse with 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, launches the Switchblade 300, a weaponized Small Unmanned Air System, at Range 230 for Integrated Training Exercise (ITX) 1–20 on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, Oct. 23, 2019. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Timothy J. Lutz)

Unlike Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) drones used across the U.S. military, the Switchblade 300 is less than 24 inches (61 centimeters) long and light enough at 5.5 lbs. (2.5 kg) to fit inside a single soldier’s rucksack. It carries an explosive Northrop Grumman advanced munition large enough to kill a group of soldiers in close proximity, but not big enough to do much damage to Russian tanks.

Once the Switchblade is airborne, it has a range of approximately 10 km and can stay airborne for about 15…