Lithuania receives first Switchblade 600 loitering munitions from AeroVironment

TLDR

• The Lithuanian Armed Forces have received their first batch of U.S.-made Switchblade 600 loitering munitions from AeroVironment.¹²
• The roughly €45 million deal, signed in December 2022, also includes launch and control equipment, an operator training simulator and a maintenance package.¹
• The Switchblade 600 carries a Javelin-derived anti-armor warhead, flies for 40 to 45 minutes and can strike targets tens of kilometers away.¹²
• Lithuania has bought about €2 billion in U.S. weapons over the past three years, the largest total among the Baltic states.¹

The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense said its armed forces have received the first batch of Switchblade 600 loitering munitions from U.S. manufacturer AeroVironment.¹² "With Switchblade 600 drones, the Lithuanian Armed Forces are gaining new strike capabilities. They allow service members to quickly and accurately destroy enemy armored vehicles from a safe distance," Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas said.¹

The supply agreement, signed in December 2022 and worth approximately €45 million, also covers launch and control equipment, an operator training simulator and a technical maintenance package; the ministry did not specify which Switchblade 600 variant it received.¹² The munition uses electro-optical and infrared sensors to engage stationary or moving targets beyond the operator's line of sight, carries a multipurpose warhead derived from the Javelin missile, and has a flight endurance of roughly 40 to 45 minutes with a published standoff range exceeding 60 kilometers.¹² Ukrainian forces have used the weapon in combat, including to destroy a Russian Buk air defense system.¹

AeroVironment unveiled an upgraded Switchblade 600 Block 2 in October 2025, with 20% longer endurance and a control range beyond 100 kilometers, along with AI-assisted automatic target recognition and jam-resistant GPS navigation.¹² Greece, Romania and Sweden have also ordered Switchblade 600 systems.² Kaunas said Lithuania has purchased about €2 billion worth of U.S. weapons and equipment over the past three years, making it the largest buyer of U.S. arms among the Baltic states.¹

Why it matters: this is a NATO frontline state against Russia and Belarus fielding a combat-proven American loitering munition at scale, reinforcing a wider pattern of Baltic states converting years-old defense contracts into delivered hardware as the war in Ukraine keeps demand for anti-armor strike drones high.

Note for Webmaster: 2 independent sources (Militarnyi, Defence Industry Europe), both reporting the same Lithuanian MoD announcement with consistent figures. Thumbnail: 2026-10-08-switchblade-600-lithuania.jpg (from Militarnyi's og:image), verified genuine JPEG.