Switchblade Drones, 1
Vocabulary
| drone | kamikaze | switchblade (2) |
| design | develop | introduce |
| tired | support | carry/carried |
| air (2) | target (2) | take out (4) |
| troops | original | know/knew/known |
| half | tactical | long/longer/longest |
| loiter | range (3) | Special Force |
| vehicle | weight | km per hour |
| reveal | promise | administration |
| aerial | package | send/sent/sent |
| part | instantly | think/thought/thought (2) |
| aid | man (2) | large/larger/largest |
| offer | portable | significantly |
| set up | increase | heavy/heavier/heaviest |
| size | javelin (2) | additional |
| anti- | neutralize | fly/flew/flown |
| pro- | warhead | personnel |
| armor | neutral | sophisticated |
| adept |
Video
Transcript
The Switchblade Drone, sometimes called “The Kamikaze”, was developed for US special forces in Afghanistan and introduced in 2011.
Tired of waiting for air support, American troops wanted a drone they could carry in their backpacks and use instantly to take out targets from above.
The original Switchblade, now known as the Switchblade 300, is just over half a metre long and weighs less than three kilos. With a range of ten kilometers and a loitering time of 15 minutes, it is designed to attack personnel and light vehicles.
In March the Biden Administration promised to send a hundred tactical unmanned aerial systems to Ukraine, as part of an 800 million dollar military aid package. Each of these systems are thought to carry ten switchblade drones which would give a total of a thousand in all.
At the start of April, the US revealed this offer would also include ten of the larger tank-busting Switchblade 600. Although these are still man portable and can be set up in just ten minutes at 23 kilograms they’re significantly heavier.
With that increase in size comes additional power: the switchblade 600 is designed to fly out to 40 kilometers in 20 minutes then loiter for another 20 minutes, giving it a total range of 80 kilometers.
It attacks at 185 kilometers an hour carrying a javelin anti-armor warhead designed to neutralize armored vehicles.
In Ukraine the need for the switchblade is increasingly urgent as the Russians have grown more adept at taking out less sophisticated drones.
Questions
Ukraine. The Switchblade drone was developed by the Japanese during World War Two (1939 to 1945). True or false?
Russia, Belarus. Are Switchblade drones fired only from airplanes and helicopters?
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. Is the original Switchblade similar in size to a Stinger or Javelin portable missile?
Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan. The Switchblade has an effective range of 1 mile (1.6 km). Is this right or wrong?
Hungary, Poland, Slovakia. Are the Switchblade drones and their systems cheap?
Greece, Turkey, Iran. Do the Switchblades come in only one size, weight, flight range and loitering time?
Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia. Ukrainians don’t need drones; all they need are tanks, missiles and jet fighters. Is this correct or incorrect?
Belgium, France, Luxembourg. What do you think of drones? Is it highly effective or over-hyped?
Denmark, Finland, Sweden. Are there drone video games? Or are video games virtual drones?
Great Britain, Ireland. My friends and I would like to become drone operators. Yes or no?
Italy. What might happen in the future?
Netherlands. Should Drones be employed in combat or should they be banned?
