Australia takes aim with US-made loitering munitions

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Australia said it ordered its first loitering munitions from overseas, the U.S.-manufactured Switchblade 300 from AeroVironment.

This same weapon is widely used by Ukrainian soldiers against Russian invaders, plus Taiwan recently had a USD $60.2 million Foreign Military Sale of 720 of these loitering munitions approved.

Canberra’s announcement did not mention quantities or price, but it said the first examples would reach Australia later this year and enter Australian Defence Force service in 2025.

The Switchblade 300, which has a 3.69-pound (1.68kg) warhead and 19-mile (30km) range in its latest Block 20 variant, will “boost the ADF’s arsenal of drones, including those capable of being armed,” according to a Department of Defence statement.

The weapon can be transported in a backpack, before being launched from a tube.

“With autonomous weapon systems increasingly prevalent, the Defence Strategic Review made clear that new technology and asymmetric advantage are important priorities,” said Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy. “The delivery of this proven precision loitering munition demonstrates the speed at which we are introducing capabilities to the ADF.”

However, his reference to speedy introduction is incongruous. Ukraine has been demonstrating the utility of loitering munitions for the past 2.5 years of combat, and yet Australia is only now introducing this class of weapon.

Indeed, Travis Reddy, CEO of the Australian firm DefendTex , criticized the ADF for its tardiness in acquiring any loitering munitions. His company manufactures the D40 drone, essentially a flying 40mm grenade.

He told Defense News the Australian government even prevented DefendTex from exporting warhead-equipped D40s to Ukraine, because its fuse had not “been through all the certification and qualification stages”. Therefore, the Australian company could send only camera-equipped D40s.

Conversely, the “U.K. took a pragmatic approach” and delivered to Ukraine 300 warhead-equipped D40s that it had commercially procured from DefendTex. Reddy said this D40 case “very much talks about this risk-adverse culture that exists within Defence”.

“We’re running programs right now to develop Australian drones,” Conroy said. “And we’re hoping to get them into the inventory as soon as possible.”

One example is the One-Way Loitering (OWL) munition developed by Western Australia-based firm Innovaero.

Innovaero officials didn’t immediatelyrespond to Defense News requests for details, but it is known the OWL is being trialed by Australian Army special forces, and more will be delivered to the army this year.

The OWL is in a different class to the Switchblade 300, since it has a 125-mile range, 100-minute endurance and carries a 15-pound anti-armor or fragmentation warhead.

Another Australian firm delivering drones to Ukraine is Sypaq Systems. Amanda Holt, Sypaq’s CEO, previously told Defense News that her firm had been delivering 100 low-cost Corvo drones per month, and that Ukrainian troops often jury-rigged them with explosives to act as loitering munitions.

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

新西兰基督城——澳大利亚表示，它已从海外订购了第一批巡飞弹，即美国 AeroVironment 公司生产的 Switchblade 300 型巡飞弹。

乌克兰士兵广泛使用这种武器对抗俄罗斯侵略者，此外，台湾最近还批准了一项价值 6020 万美元的对外军售，购买 720 枚这种巡飞弹。

堪培拉的声明没有提及数量或价格，但表示首批样品将于今年晚些时候抵达澳大利亚，并于 2025 年进入澳大利亚国防军服役。

根据国防部的一份声明，Switchblade 300 最新 Block 20 型号配备 3.69 磅（1.68 公斤）弹头，射程达 19 英里（30 公里），将“增强澳大利亚国防军的无人机库，包括那些能够携带武器的无人机”。

这种武器可以装在背包里运输，然后从发射管中发射出去。

“随着自主武器系统日益普及，《国防战略评估》明确指出，新技术和非对称优势是重要的优先事项，”国防工业部长帕特·康罗伊表示。“交付这种经过验证的精确巡飞弹，表明我们正在以惊人的速度向澳大利亚国防军引入新的作战能力。”

然而，他所说的“迅速引进”并不恰当。乌克兰在过去两年半的战斗中已经证明了巡飞弹的效用，而澳大利亚现在才开始引进这类武器。

事实上，澳大利亚DefendTex公司首席执行官特拉维斯·雷迪批评澳大利亚国防军在采购巡飞弹方面行动迟缓。他的公司生产D40无人机，本质上是一种飞行40毫米榴弹。

他告诉《防务新闻》，澳大利亚政府甚至阻止了DefendTex公司向乌克兰出口装有弹头的D40导弹，因为其引信尚未“通过所有认证和鉴定阶段”。因此，这家澳大利亚公司只能向乌克兰出口装有摄像头的D40导弹。

相反，“英国采取了务实的做法”，向乌克兰交付了300枚从DefendTex公司商业采购的装有核弹头的D40导弹。雷迪表示，D40导弹的案例“充分体现了国防部门内部存在的规避风险的文化”。

康罗伊说：“我们目前正在开展项目，开发澳大利亚国产无人机。我们希望尽快将它们投入使用。”

例如，西澳大利亚公司 Innovaero 开发的单向巡航 (OWL) 弹药就是一个例子。

Innovaero 的官员没有立即回应《防务新闻》的详细询问，但据了解，OWL 正在澳大利亚陆军特种部队进行试验，今年将向陆军交付更多。

OWL 与 Switchblade 300 属于不同的级别，因为它射程达 125 英里，续航时间为 100 分钟，并携带 15 磅重的反装甲或破片战斗部。

另一家向乌克兰提供无人机的澳大利亚公司是Sypaq Systems。Sypaq首席执行官阿曼达·霍尔特此前告诉《防务新闻》，她的公司每月交付100架低成本的Corvo无人机，乌克兰军队经常对这些无人机进行改装，加装炸药，用作巡飞弹。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。