Lithuania buys Switchblade 600 drones

WARSAW, Poland — Lithuania’s Defence Ministry has signed a deal to buy Switchblade 600 drones from the United States, becoming the first European NATO member to order the kamikaze system.

“We are the first country in the world after the United States to purchase the Switchblade 600. These combat drones are a new redeployable capability that will give the Lithuanian Army the ability to destroy enemy tanks and other armored vehicles at a distance of up to 40 kilometers. Our army has not had such a capacity until now,” Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas said in a ministerial statement.

The deal is worth about €45 million (U.S. $48 million), the statement said. The American company AeroVironment makes the kamikaze drones, sometimes referred to as loitering munitions.

Lithuanian MoD spokesperson Martynas Bendikas declined to say how many Switchblade 600 systems it ordered.

As part of its efforts to combat Russia’s ongoing invasion, Ukraine has used Switchblade 300 drones in battle. Likewise, other countries along Russia’s western front are purchasing combat UAVs. Poland, for example, leased a set of MQ-9A Reaper drones from General Atomics in October, and it’s preparing to purchase the unmanned aircraft . And Romania this month inked a framework agreement with Israel’s Elbit Systems to buy up to seven Watchkeeper X drones earlier this week.

Meanwhile, the Lithuanian military may also acquire Switchblade 300 drones from the U.S. “in the near future,” according to the ministry. Vilnius hopes Washington will finance that possible purchase as part of military assistance to European allies, the statement said.

The Switchblade 600 order comes shortly after Lithuania and the U.S. signed a $495 million deal for as many as eight M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. Deliveries are scheduled for the 2025-2026 time frame.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——立陶宛国防部签署了一项协议，将从美国购买Switchblade 600无人机，成为第一个订购该神风特攻系统的欧洲北约成员国。

“我们是继美国之后世界上第一个购买Switchblade 600无人机的国家。这些作战无人机是一种新型的可重新部署能力，将使立陶宛军队能够在40公里范围内摧毁敌方坦克和其他装甲车辆。此前，我们的军队并不具备这种能力。”国防部长阿尔维达斯·阿努绍斯卡斯在一份部长声明中表示。

声明称，这笔交易价值约4500万欧元（约合4800万美元）。美国公司AeroVironment生产这种神风特攻队无人机，有时也被称为巡飞弹。

立陶宛国防部发言人马蒂纳斯·本迪卡斯拒绝透露该公司订购了多少套Switchblade 600系统。

为了应对俄罗斯持续不断的入侵，乌克兰已在战斗中使用了Switchblade 300无人机。同样，俄罗斯西部战线上的其他国家也在采购作战无人机。例如，波兰在10月份从通用原子公司租赁了一批MQ-9A“死神”无人机，并正准备购买该型无人机。罗马尼亚本月早些时候与以色列埃尔比特系统公司签署了一项框架协议，计划购买至多7架Watchkeeper X无人机。

与此同时，立陶宛国防部表示，立陶宛军方“近期”也可能从美国采购Switchblade 300无人机。声明称，维尔纽斯方面希望华盛顿能为这笔可能的采购提供资金，作为对欧洲盟国军事援助的一部分。

在立陶宛和美国签署价值4.95亿美元的协议，采购多达8套M142高机动性火箭炮系统后不久，立陶宛便订购了Switchblade 600。交付计划于2025年至2026年期间进行。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。