Switchblade 600s Destroy $25 Million Russian SA-15 Gauntlet Air Defense System

The Ukrainian 14th Separate Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Regiment published a video on its Telegram channel on Monday, Oct 28, that showed the US-made AeroVironment Switchblade 600 loitering munition in action. The event was said to be an operation conducted in cooperation with special forces troops from the Security Service (SBU).

The video shows how the 14th Regiment reconnaissance drone detected and then tracked the Russian 9K330 Tor (NATO: SA-15 Gauntlet) surface to air missile (SAM) system, somewhere in the Donetsk region. The post then says the drone operator passed the coordinates to the SBU unit that was armed with the Switchblade 600.

Just in time, as the SAM vehicle was beginning to leave its location, the first of the precision-guided kamikaze munitions struck it at the rear, causing it to stop which then allowed a second Switchblade to hit it, causing its crew to scatter who could then only watch as it caught fire.

In November 2023 Yaroslav Oliynyk, advisor to the Minister of Strategic Industries, shared a video featuring an almost identical incident. On that occasion a Ukrspecsystems Shark UAV spotted the Tor SAM around 13 kilometers (8 miles) from Robotyne before calling in the Switchblade 600 strike.

Oliynyk said that incident took place against the background of what he termed “a robust enemy electronic warfare (EW) system.” He said the EW failed to adversely affect either the reconnaissance drone or the Switchblade but may have inhibited the operation of the SAM that tried but failed to target the Shark. The Switchblade 600 struck and incapacitated the Tor system, which was then unable to move forcing the crew to abandon it.

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The Switchblade 600, produced by the US AeroVironment company, weighs approximately 22.7 kilograms (50 pounds), has an operational range of up to 40 kilometers (25 miles) and can loiter over a target area for up to 40 minutes. It is designed for precision strikes against armored vehicles and fortified positions using the same warhead as the US FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided weapon.

Screenshot from the 14th Separate Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Regiment of the launch of the Switchblade 600 by the SBU troops.

The Tor SAM destroyed this week was the M2 version, currently the most advanced version of the system said to be valued at around $25 million. It carries 16 9M338 missiles that were specifically developed for the interception of small, aggressively maneuvering targets at ranges of up to 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) and as such poses a particular threat to Ukrainian drones.

The detection of the system was part of a Ukrainian “hunt and destroy” operation against Russian military equipment, artillery and air defense systems in the Donetsk region. In early October the commander of the Achilles Battalion of the 92nd Assault Brigade posted video of first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones from his unit destroying another enemy Tor SAM system.