The award establishes the Switchblade 400 as a key component of the Army’s LASSO program, supporting the service’s modernization priorities for rapidly deployable, precision strike capabilities in contested environments. Trace Stevenson, President of Autonomous Systems at AeroVironment, described the award as a reflection of the Army’s broader confidence in the company.
“This award reflects the Army’s confidence not only in Switchblade 400, but in AV’s ability to deliver at scale,” he said. “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,” he added.
The Switchblade 400 is a medium-range, man-portable, anti-armor loitering munition and the first system purpose-built to operate within AeroVironment’s AV_Halo modular command-and-control ecosystem. The system incorporates advanced aided target recognition and autonomous capabilities to detect, classify and engage targets, day or night, in denied and contested environments, delivering anti-armor performance comparable to larger systems such as the Switchblade 600 Block 2.
Known as the “Lightweight Tank Destroyer,” the Switchblade 400 is sized to fit common launch tubes and features an all-up round weighing under 40 pounds, providing a single soldier with a lightweight, man-portable anti-tank weapon system. The system enables a sensor-to-shooter concept of operations through a unified, networked architecture, shortening decision timelines while increasing precision, speed and operational flexibility at the tactical edge.
The Switchblade 400 is built on a Modular Open Systems Approach, ensuring long-term system resilience and relevance through interoperability, upgradeability and affordability as missions evolve. The system is described by AeroVironment as the product of continuous feedback from soldiers operating in real-world conditions.
Brian Young, Senior Vice President of Loitering Munitions at AeroVironment, emphasized the soldier-driven development philosophy behind the system. “Switchblade 400 is the product of continuous feedback from the field and the soldiers who rely on our systems in real-world operations,” he said. “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,” he added.
The LASSO award 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 loitering munition systems. That order formed part of the Army’s existing five-year, $990 million Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract under the Lethal Unmanned Systems Directed Requirement, awarded in August 2024, and represented the Army’s first Switchblade order incorporating an explosively formed penetrator payload.
Jimmy Jenkins, Executive Vice President of Precision Strike and Defense Systems at AeroVironment, highlighted the operational track record underpinning the Army’s continued investment in the Switchblade family. “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,” he said. “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,” he added.
