AeroVironment Inc.’s drone aircraft, primarily used by the U.S. military for surveillance, are now starting to be deployed as weapons in Afghanistan, an Army official confirmed in a media report.
Army Deputy Product Director William Nichols told Bloomberg News in an article Wednesday that the military launched miniature drones against Taliban targets beginning last year, and plans to deploy more next year for use by Army and Air Force special forces.
The Monrovia company said in June said that the Army would pay $4.9 million for about a dozen of the “Switchblade” drones, which are 24 inches long and weigh about six pounds each. The aircraft deploy their wings after being launched from a two-foot-long tube and are piloted by remote control. The Army also owns numerous Aerovironment Ravens, a hand-launched, short-range surveillance drone.
The Switchblades are being used as a “flying shotgun,” not a “hit-to-kill” weapon that explodes on impact, said Nichols, who declined to disclose the drones’ targets,
Documents obtained by Bloomberg said the drone may be used against moving vehicles, snipers, and insurgents hiding on ridge lines, under rock overhangs or other hard-to-target locations.
AeroVironment shares were up 96 cents, or 3 percent, to $30.71 in midday trading on the Nasdaq.
