US Planing Switchblade Drone Swarms for Counter-China Initiative

Defense News ,U.S :- The US Department of Defense is exploring the integration of the Switchblade 600 kamikaze drone into its Replicator unmanned systems initiative, aiming to "mass produce and rapidly scale" the AeroVironment system as part of its counter-China strategy, according to Defense Scoop sources.

This marks the first reported system under consideration for the Replicator initiative, which has already identified a "small number of capabilities." In January, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks refrained from disclosing specific capabilities, stating that acquisition strategies for suitable platforms were in preparation.

Pentagon spokesperson Eric Pahon confirmed, "The deputy secretary selected capability areas in December. The military departments then identified specific systems and associated acquisition strategies to meet those capability needs." Pahon added that a spend plan and reprogramming requests have been submitted to Congress, with hopes for swift action to enable the acceleration of Replicator capabilities production.

The Switchblade 600, a 15-kilogram (33-pound) kamikaze drone, boasts high-precision optics and an anti-armor warhead designed for precision strikes on hardened targets, including tanks. With a 40-minute endurance and a 40-kilometer (25-mile) range, it is among the capabilities considered for Replicator, which envisions the deployment of numerous unmanned systems to counter China's military advancements.

Deputy Secretary Hicks emphasized the broader scope of Replicator capabilities, stating, "I don’t think ‘kamikaze drone’ is the right way to think about it. You need to think, again, well beyond the kinetic side of this into the ability to deliver logistics, command and control, ISR, if you will, and again, multiple domains."

In addition to the Switchblade 600, another potential Replicator capability involves the deployment of swarms of unmanned surface vessels, with plans to deploy hundreds, if not thousands, of these vessels against the numerically superior Chinese Navy. The Production-Ready, Inexpensive, Maritime Expeditionary project aims to produce at least 120 such vessels annually from 2025 as part of the initiative.

Naval analyst Bryan Clark highlighted the initiative's strategic focus, stating, "This is their effort to try to get some new kinetic, lethal USV fielded that can be employed probably in a western Pacific context – maybe the Strait of Taiwan." The Pentagon aims to collaborate with the commercial sector to identify scalable, lethal unmanned surface vessels for Replicator's objectives.