US scales up Switchblade buys: Army LASSO pick, $186M order, Marine fielding in June

Summary

The US is converting Loitering Munitions from emergency Ukraine aid into a standing, service-organic strike category. In February 2026 US Army placed a $186M delivery order with Aerovironment for Switchblade 600 Block 2 and 300 EFP anti-armour rounds under a five-year, $990M Lethal Unmanned Systems IDIQ. In May the Army selected the Switchblade 400 for its Low-Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) programme, giving brigade combat teams an organic beyond-line-of-sight precision-strike weapon. The US Marine Corps is fielding the Switchblade 300 Block 20 to operational units in the "June timeframe" as its Organic Precision Fires-Light (OPF-L) capability. AeroVironment separately secured a $743M ceiling expansion. The cumulative effect: kamikaze drones move down to brigade and squad echelons as permanent US doctrine — the O jogo longo of the Ukraine drone war reshaping Western force structure.

By the numbers

• $186M — February 2026 Army delivery order (Switchblade 600 Block 2 + 300 EFP).
• $990M — ceiling of the Army's five-year Lethal Unmanned Systems IDIQ.
• $743M — additional contract-ceiling expansion AeroVironment secured.
• "June timeframe" — Marine OPF-L (Switchblade 300 Block 20) initial fielding.
• 4 — Switchblade variants now in US programmes (300, 400, 600, EFP anti-armour).

Why it matters

The orders institutionalise loitering munitions in US ground forces, not as a stopgap but as organic fires at brigade and squad level — the clearest sign the Pentagon has absorbed the Ukraine lesson. It also concentrates a fast-growing category in one prime, Aerovironment, raising single-supplier and surge-capacity questions.

What to watch

• Whether LASSO and OPF-L hit fielding timelines and survive FY27 budget scrutiny.
• Production surge capacity vs. Russia/Ukraine consumption rates.
• Competitors challenging AeroVironment's near-monopoly on the US loitering-munition line.