Us Army Unveils the Tiny Kamikaze ‘Switchblade’ Drones to Kill Militants

The US Army has unveiled its new ‘kamikaze’ drones named ‘Switchblade’, which are small enough to fit inside a soldier’s backpack, and help transmit live video from overhead to identify and destroy the enemy target. The impressive robotic craft weighs less than 2kg and launches from a tube before its wings fold out as it flies into the air. The operators can then send a message to the drone ‘to arm it and lock its trajectory onto the target’, the company said in a press release.

Impressive craft: A soldier launches a 'kamikaze' drone and watches its live feed as it flies out of a tube. It will soon be available for use by the U.S. Army

Reports suggest that the drone flies into a target and detonates a small explosive, but can still be disarmed at the last moment even if it is heading for a kill. The US Army is paying manufacturer AeroVironment $4.9 million for the drones to help it develop a new way of killing suspected militants. The California Company said it is this feature that makes its drones unique and gives ‘a level of control not available in other weapon systems’, the Daily Mail reports.

"Switchblade provides a revolutionary rapid strike capability to protect our troops and give them a valuable new advantage on the battlefield," said Tom Herring, AeroVironment senior vice president and general manager of its Unmanned Aircraft Systems unit.

Drone: The impressive robotic craft weighs less than 2kg and launches from a tube before its wings fold out as it flies into the air

They are so costly and contain such a myriad of proprietary information and technology that U.S. troops often go into harm’s way to recover the drones if they crash.