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Athens · Monday, 19 October 2026

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Two US Army soldiers setting up the tan launch tube of a Switchblade 600 loitering munition on a tripod at a training area

Drones

Lithuania receives first batch of Switchblade 600 loitering munitions

Lithuania’s armed forces have received the first batch of AeroVironment Switchblade 600 loitering munitions, the Lithuanian defence ministry announced. Greece, Romania and Sweden have also chosen the system.

GEOPOLITIKI GEOPOLITIKINewsroom
2 min readUpdated

Archive photo: soldiers of the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division set up a Switchblade 600 during a live-fire exercise at the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, on February 25, 2025. Not a Lithuanian unit. Photo: Kevin Sterling Payne, U.S. Army, via DVIDS / Wikimedia Commons (public domain, U.S. government work). Cropped to 16:9 and converted to WebP.

Lithuania’s Armed Forces have received the first batch of Switchblade 600 loitering munitions from the US company AeroVironment, the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence announced. The weapon can strike armoured vehicles, including tanks, from a safe distance.

“With the Switchblade 600, the Lithuanian army gains a new strike capability,” said Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas, adding that every such acquisition strengthens deterrence and is “yet another clear proof of cooperation between Lithuania and the US.” The country is also buying launch and control equipment, a training simulator and a support package. The ministry did not specify which version it received.

The system

The Switchblade 600 carries electro-optical and infrared sensors for fixed or moving targets beyond the operator’s line of sight, with an anti-armour warhead that strikes from above. According to AeroVironment, it has an endurance of more than 40 minutes and an engagement range of more than 40 kilometres, extending beyond 90 kilometres with Forward Pass control handover. The operator can abort the attack and retarget. The newer Block 2 version offers longer endurance, an engagement range of more than 100 kilometres, AI-assisted target recognition and Silvus radios for operation under electronic warfare.

Greece among the users

Greece, Romania and Sweden have also selected the Switchblade 600. For the Greek procurement, the US State Department approved the sale, with the aim of strengthening the fire-control zone on the islands and along the Evros border. Lithuania has bought about EUR 2 billion worth of US weapons and equipment in recent years.

AeroVironment Lithuania Switchblade

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