AeroVironment Switchblade
The AeroVironment Switchblade is a miniature loitering munition designed by AeroVironment and used by several branches of the United States military. Small enough to fit in a backpack, the Switchblade launches from a tube, flies to the target area, and crashes into its target while detonating its explosive warhead. The name Switchblade comes from how the spring-loaded wings are folded inside a tube and flipped out once released.
Switchblade 300 launched by a US Army soldier
Switchblade 300 in flight
Launch unit for the Switchblade 300. Compressed air is used to expel the drone from the tube.
A loitering munition, also known as a suicide drone, kamikaze drone, or exploding drone, is a kind of aerial weapon with a built-in warhead that is typically designed to loiter around a target area until a target is located, then attack the target by crashing into it. Loitering munitions enable faster reaction times against hidden targets that emerge for short periods without placing high-value platforms near the target area and also allow more selective targeting as the attack can be changed mid-flight or aborted.
An Iranian HESA Shahed 136 long range loitering munition
Northrop AGM-136 Tacit Rainbow on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio
IAI Harpy first-generation loitering munition for SEAD role
Loitering Munitions HERO (UVision Air Ltd, Israel), DSEI 2019, London