Watch Switchblade Loitering Drones Strike Russian Infrastructure and Soldiers: Switchblade 300 drones have been used throughout the Russian invasion of Ukraine to defend against Russian forces, and videos of loitering munition strikes have been shared since the spring. This month, more videos emerged online showing that American weapons are still being used with great effectiveness on the battlefield. Note: Some may find the video disturbing.
In one video, first shared on Telegram and then reposted on Telegram, the Switchblade 300 “kamikaze” drone can be seen targeting a Russian ATGM team. The video starts by showing Ukrainian soldiers preparing for the strike, and then cuts away to video recorded from the drone itself.
The video feed continues until the final seconds of the strike, showing a group of Russian soldiers hiding in a hole in the ground. The clip’s speed slows down as it approaches, showing the soldiers cowering in as much detail as possible. Eventually, the feed from the drone cuts off as it hits the Russian position and explodes.
Video recorded from elsewhere, however, shows the impact of the strike. The soldiers can be seen hitting the ground as the drone hits, causing a cloud of dust above the ground.
“Accurate work of operators of the SSO of Ukraine with the use of an impact BPAK in one of the operational directions,” the original Telegram post reads, adding that the same Ukrainian unit destroyed a Russian anti-tank missile system.
The post also confirmed that the kamikaze drone strike “destroyed even more enemy manpower.”
In another video, also first shared on Telegram but reposted on Twitter by war analyst Rob Lee, a strike can be seen on a Russian FSB Border Service observation tower.
Lee suggested that the video was “likely from the summer,” based on the trees surrounding the tower.
The original Telegram post from December 11 also reveals how Ukrainian forces are in some ways “adapting” the Switchblade drones – no longer using them just to take out light equipment and manpower, but also targeting Russian infrastructure.
“Due to the suddenly extremely low effectiveness of american small kamikaze drones Switchblade 300 in the process of using them even for light equipment and manpower, the Ukrainian army has adapted “Switchblades” for strikes on objects of observation, control and communication of Russian border guards along the border and the contact line,” the post reads.
The post also describes how the strike showed how Ukrainians can now “actively penetrate into Russian territory and carry out their sabotage both in the borderland and in the interior of the country.”
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor.
