By Aritra Banerjee

Can the battle-tested Javelin anti-tank missiles and Switchblade loitering munitions sent by the United States as part of military aid help turn the tide of war in Ukraine’s favour?

The Biden Administration earmarked $800 million worth of military equipment to help counter ‘Russian Special Operations’ following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s appeal to the United States Congress. Over 25 other countries have also committed to providing military aid to counter the Russians in Ukraine and collectively giving the Ukrainian Armed Forces a significant boost to deal with a technologically superior Russian war machine. The Javelin anti-tank missile (ATGM) and the Switchblade lethal miniature aerial missile system (LMAMS) are two weapons platforms that stand out, geared towards combating Russian armoured units. The former has already demonstrated its combat capabilities against Russian tanks. 

The Javelins – A Battle-Tested Russian Tank Killer

2,000 Javelin ATGM’s feature as part of the overall US military aid package. The Javelin is a man-portable anti-tank missile jointly developed by the defence and aerospace giants Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. The Javelin is 1.08 metres long, weighs 22.3 kilograms and boasts an effective range of 2,500 metres. Being a joint venture, Raytheon is responsible for the Javelin’s Command Launch Unit (CLU), missile guidance electronic unit, system software, and emergency management. On the other hand, Lockheed Martin looks after Javelin’s assembly and missile seeker.

Having first entered service in the US Army at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1996, the Javelin has proved itself in the US arsenal. The ATGM has extensively been deployed by American and Coalition forces on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. The platform offers tremendous operational versatility, with the Javelin being capable of being shoulder-fired by a single operator along with providing multiple deployment options such as being mounted on tracked, wheeled and even amphibious vehicles.

The Javelin has seen over 5,000 engagements by the US Military and Coalition forces during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over 50,000 Javelin and 12,000 CLUs are housed in the US inventory and 19 American allies and will remain operational with the US Military until 2050. Ukraine is the latest battleground that has seen the Javelin’s effective use. As of 28 March, Oryx, an Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) arms monitoring site, documented at least 270 Russian tank losses.

Despite being militarily superior in terms of hardware, the use of the Javelin gives the Ukrainians an asymmetrical advantage, as the cost of a tank is exorbitantly more than a Javelin round. Ukraine’s anti-tank efforts remain a commercially viable war fighting effort, whereas Russia’s tank losses are costly.

The effective use of the javelins saw Russian armoured personnel adopt makeshift defensive measures; Russian troops have resorted to attaching metal cages and even sandbags in a crude effort to add a layer of protection to the tanks’ most vulnerable part to protect themselves against the Javelins and other anti-tank weapons used by Ukrainian forces. The combat effectiveness of these measures remains questionable.

AeroVironment Switchblade – America’s Kamikaze Drones for Ukraine

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have revolutionized modern warfare, as was most recently witnessed during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which gave an asymmetric edge to Azerbaijan.

The Switchblade is a compact, high precision strike tactical missile system designed by AeroVironment. The weapon is a tube-launched man-portable system that can be rapidly deployed and is fully scalable. The loitering munition was the brainchild of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and was developed by the US Army designed to support American troops in response to ambushes in Afghanistan.

A $4.9 million contract was awarded to AeroVironment by the US Army on 29 July 2011 to rapidly field an unspecified number of Switchblades for forces in Afghanistan. 75 of these drones were delivered to US Military personnel in Afghanistan in 2012. American commanders on the ground endorsed the drone’s battlefield capabilities; however, the US military had neither confirmed nor commented on the deployment, combat effectiveness, distribution or tactical application of the weapon. Shortly later, army theatre commanders requested a joint urgent needs statement for more systems.

The weapon system can be piloted remotely and autonomously by a single operator and carried in a rucksack and offers operational flexibility, allowing operators to control and adjust the blast radius. For instance, the Switchblade can ‘target and kill’ a vehicle’s driver without harming passengers onboard. Furthermore, the kamikaze drone has patented wave-off features, recommitting and self destruct capabilities, allowing it to cater to the evolving ground situation even after being deployed; this mitigates the risk of mistargeting, collateral damage and destruction of property.

The drone’s advanced explosive warhead allows it to attack soft targets. The loitering munition used has Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to engage targets beyond sight. Furthermore, the drone has a camera that can provide colour and infrared imaging in real-time and has a Global Positioning System (GPS) for target acquisition. Adding on to the targeting capabilities is the drone’s ability to leverage facial recognition without the need for intervention by human operators.

What makes the Switchblade a potent weapon system is its low profile making it challenging to detect. These single-use weapons are relatively inexpensive compared to other UAVs in the US inventory.

There are two versions of the Switchblade, the 300 and 600. The former is two feet long, weighing 2.7 kg with the launcher and carrying case; this allows it to remain compact and be moved by single personnel. The 300 variant can be controlled for up to 10 km, but its compact nature limits the drone’s endurance making it unsuited for scouting roles; however, the variant helps engage in long-range targets and assists units pinned down by the enemy.

The Switchblade 600, on the other hand, weighs 23 kg and takes about 10 minutes to set up. The 600 boasts more power than the 300 and was designed to fly 40 km in 20 minutes and loiter for another 20 minutes, giving it a total range of 80 km. Anti-tank warheads can be equipped onto the 600, and can attack at speeds up to 185 Km/hr while touting longer ranges and being more economical than the aforementioned Javelins. Besides being extremely portable, the minimal training required to operate the system makes it likely to cater to Ukraine’s needs amidst exigent circumstances.

However, military hardware analysts argue that a mere 100 Switchblades will not be enough as it is expected to be exhausted relatively soon. Another concern shared by these analysts is that the 300 variant is unlikely to be effective in direct attacks against most of Russia’s armoured units. Despite the criticism, both weapons are likely to bolster the Ukrainian war effort, as opposed to not having them in its arsenal, all things considered.

(The author is a New Delhi based journalist covering the global defence & aerospace industry. He tweets @Aritrabanned. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of Financial Express Online. Reproducing this content without permission is prohibited).