AeroVironment, Inc. has announced that it has been awarded a prototype agreement from the U.S. Army for the Low-Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program to support the rapid development, delivery, and testing of the Switchblade 400 loitering munition system.
The award establishes the Switchblade 400 — AV’s medium-range, man-portable, anti-armor loitering munition — as a key component of the Army’s LASSO program, supporting the service’s modernization priorities for rapidly deployable, precision strike capabilities that can operate effectively in contested environments.
Trace Stevenson, President of Autonomous Systems at AeroVironment, stated:
“This award reflects the Army’s confidence not only in the Switchblade 400 but in AV’s ability to deliver at scale. Being selected under the LASSO program positions AV as a long-term partner to the Army as it modernizes its loitering munition capabilities, from development and testing through production, fielding, and continuous capability evolution.”
The Switchblade 400 is the first loitering munition purpose-built to operate within AV_Halo, AV’s modular command-and-control ecosystem. It incorporates advanced aided target recognition (ATR) and autonomous capabilities to detect, classify, and engage targets day or night in denied and contested environments, while delivering anti-armor performance comparable to larger systems such as the Switchblade 600 Block 2.
Core to the Switchblade 400 is a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) in system design, ensuring long-term system resilience and relevance by enabling interoperability, upgradeability, and affordability as missions evolve.
Known as the “Lightweight Tank Destroyer,” the Switchblade 400 is sized to fit common launch tubes and enables a sensor-to-shooter concept of operations that allows a single soldier to detect, identify, and engage targets through a unified, networked architecture — shortening decision timelines while increasing precision, speed, and operational flexibility at the tactical edge. The all-up round (AUR) weighs under 40 pounds, providing a lightweight, man-portable anti-tank weapon system.
Brian Young, Senior Vice President of Loitering Munitions at AeroVironment, added:
“The Switchblade 400 is the product of continuous feedback from the field and the soldiers who rely on our systems in real-world operations. We are constantly leaning forward, integrating new capabilities, enhancing performance, and reducing the burden on the warfighter. That soldier-driven approach is central to how we develop, test, and deliver capability for the Army.”
The new OTA award under LASSO follows a recent $186 million delivery order from the U.S. Army for Switchblade®600 Block 2 and Switchblade® 300 Block 20 explosively formed penetrator (EFP) loitering munition systems, part of the Army’s existing five-year, $990 million Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract under the Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS) Directed Requirement (DR), which was awarded in August 2024. It was the Army’s first Switchblade order containing EFP payload, delivering enhanced lethality against armored threats.
Jimmy Jenkins, Executive Vice President of Precision Strike and Defense Systems at AeroVironment, concluded:
“The Army’s trust in the Switchblade family has been earned through years of real-world use by soldiers who rely on these systems every day. That trust reflects a clear operational need for precision, speed, and adaptability at the tactical edge — capabilities the Switchblade family is designed to deliver as missions and threats continue to change.”
