접이식 날개-스위치블레이드의 UAV는 접이식 날개를 갖고 있다. 평상시에는 날개가 접힌 채 튜브형 발사대 속에 들어있지만 발사되는 순간, 날개를 펴고 창공으로 솟아오른다. 스위치블레이드라는 명칭도 잭나이프의 칼이 튀어나오듯 UAV의 날개가 펼쳐지는 것에서 비롯됐다.

“The Switchblade” quietly hovers before dive-bombing and blowing up its target. The “kamikaze” drone, small enough to fit inside a soldier’s backpack, will soon be available for use by the U.S. Army, according to news reports.

The robotic craft weighs less than 2 kilograms and launches from a tube before its wings unfold as it flies into the air, AFP said.

The drones have a miniature electric motor and transmit live video, which helps soldiers identify the enemy, AFP reported.

The operators can then send a message to the drone “to arm it and lock its trajectory onto the target,” AeroVironment said in a press release.

The drone will fly into a target and detonate a small explosive but it can still be disarmed at the last moment even if it is heading for a kill.

The California company said it is this feature that makes its drones unique and gives “a level of control not available in other weapon systems.”

Larger Predator and Reaper drones are currently used by the U.S. to find suspected militants in Pakistan and other countries, AFP reported.

“Switchblade provides a revolutionary rapid strike capability to protect our troops and give them a valuable new advantage,” said a spokesman of AeroVironment.