Lithuania’s first Switchblade 600 loitering munitions have reached its army’s warehouses, nearly four years after it ordered them for €45 million in December 2022. The defence ministry announced the delivery on 7 October. It gave no number.
The drones come from AeroVironment through a US government sale. When Lithuania signed, its ministry called it the first foreign buyer of the Switchblade 600.
Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said the army gains “a new strike capability”. Its soldiers can destroy enemy armour quickly and precisely “from a safe distance”, he said.
The ministry describes the Switchblade 600 as a long-range drone that stays in the air for up to 40 minutes. It carries an anti-tank warhead that can destroy heavy armour, tanks included, by diving onto it from above. Launch and control equipment, a training simulator and a maintenance package come with the drones.
The ministry says Lithuania has bought about €2 billion of US weapons and equipment in three years, making it the largest buyer of American arms in the Baltic states. The list includes Javelin missiles, HIMARS rocket launchers and Black Hawk helicopters.
Lithuania’s second Switchblade order came in September 2024, through a $54.9 million US Army delivery order it shares with Romania and Sweden. Polish trade magazine MILMAG reported that one as the smaller Switchblade 300.
