What Is a Loitering Munition? How Kamikaze Drones Work
What is a loitering munition? How kamikaze drones like Switchblade and Shahed-136 circle, pick targets and strike, and how they differ from missiles.
Short answer: A loitering munition is a small, expendable aircraft that carries its own warhead and can circle over an area before diving onto a target. It works like a cross between a reconnaissance drone and a guided missile: an operator watches a live camera feed, picks a target and then commits the munition, which is destroyed in the attack. U.S. examples include AeroVironment’s Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600, while Iran’s Shahed-136 is a larger, longer-range type used by Russia against Ukraine.
Last updated: October 28, 2026
- What it is: a one-way drone with a built-in warhead that can wait over a target area
- Also called: “kamikaze drones” or, in U.S. Army terms, Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS)
- U.S. examples: Switchblade 300 Block 20 and Switchblade 600
- Switchblade 600 endurance: over sixty minutes, with an anti-armor warhead
- Recent sale: 350 Switchblade 300s and 35 fire control systems proposed for Greece, estimated at $80.1 million
- Pentagon program: Replicator, launched in August 2023 to field thousands of low-cost drones
How a loitering munition works
A traditional missile is fired at a target that has already been located. A loitering munition can be launched first and then search. It flies to an area, circles while sending video back to its operator, and attacks only when a target is found and chosen. If no target appears, its endurance eventually runs out.
The U.S. Army’s term for small systems of this kind is “Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System.” A July 2026 arms sale notice in the Congressional Record describes the Switchblade 300 Block 20 as a loitering precision guided munition “intended to allow small unit engagement of enemy combatants without direct enemy fire.” In other words, a small team can strike a target it cannot see directly, without exposing itself.
Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600
AeroVironment, based in Simi Valley, California, makes both Switchblade models. The arms sale notice gives the clearest official description of each:
- Switchblade 300 Block 20. Uses electro-optical and infrared cameras “for day and night operations,” automated mission planning and a “Forward Pass” feature to extend its operational range.
- Switchblade 600. Features “a high-performance anti-armor warhead and a significantly longer flight endurance of over sixty minutes, enabling it to engage hardened targets and conduct prolonged reconnaissance.” The notice calls it “an antitank, surface-to-surface launched missile” that uses a shaped charge warhead.
Both are controlled through a secure data link that carries the operator’s commands and near-real-time video between the fire control system and the air vehicle.
| Feature | Switchblade 300 Block 20 | Switchblade 600 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | AeroVironment | AeroVironment |
| Role | Small-unit strikes on enemy combatants | Anti-armor and hardened targets |
| Warhead | Not specified in the notice | Anti-armor shaped charge |
| Endurance | Not specified in the notice | Over sixty minutes |
| Sensors | Electro-optical and infrared | Same targeting technology as the SB300 |
| Navigation | Not specified in the notice | GPS with Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module |
| Control | Secure data link to a fire control system | Secure data link to a fire control system |
The Greece notice, delivered to Congress on July 16, 2026, covers 350 Switchblade 300 Block 20 munitions and 35 fire control systems, plus Switchblade 600 munitions and fire control systems as additional items. The estimated total cost is $80.1 million.
The Shahed-136 and long-range one-way drones
Not every loitering munition is small. Iran’s Shahed-136 is a larger delta-wing drone designed to fly long distances to fixed targets. Russia has used Shahed-type drones in large numbers against Ukraine’s cities and power grid. Our Shahed-136 explainer covers its range and cost, and our latest Russia-Ukraine war update tracks recent strikes.
The Pentagon’s Replicator push
The war in Ukraine shaped U.S. plans. According to the Congressional Research Service, Replicator was unveiled on August 28, 2023, as a Department of Defense initiative “to field thousands of uncrewed systems by August 2025.” CRS notes that Ukraine has used low-cost attritable systems in numbers “estimated by observers to be as many as 10,000 per month.”
DOD officials have confirmed several selections for Replicator, including AeroVironment’s Switchblade 600, Anduril’s Altius-600 and Ghost-X, and Performance Drone Works’ C-100. CRS says the initiative aims to create “an unfavorable cost-exchange ratio for the adversary,” forcing an enemy to spend expensive interceptors on cheap drones. Officials also stress that Replicator is intended “to supplement—not replace—more exquisite systems.”
Autonomy and the human in the loop
Loitering munitions raise questions about how much a weapon should decide on its own. U.S. policy is set by Department of Defense Directive 3000.09, last updated in January 2023. The CRS primer on autonomous weapons says the directive defines a lethal autonomous weapon system as one that, “once activated, can select and engage targets without further intervention by a human operator.”
The directive requires all systems to be designed to “allow commanders and operators to exercise appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force.” Operator-guided loitering munitions such as the Switchblade rely on a person to choose the target from the video feed.
For more on how drones and AI are changing warfare, see our report on military technology in 2026.
Peter’s World’s view
Loitering munitions sit in a gap that older weapons left open: they give small units their own precision strike, and they let larger forces trade cheap drones against expensive defenses. The official sources show the U.S. moving from buying them in small batches to treating them as a mass-production category through Replicator. The open questions are how fast U.S. industry can scale, how well defenders can counter cheap drones, and how the human-judgment rule in Directive 3000.09 applies as autonomy improves.
Frequently asked questions
What is a loitering munition?
It is an expendable drone with a built-in warhead that can circle over an area, find a target with its camera and then dive onto it.
Is a loitering munition the same as a kamikaze drone?
The terms are often used interchangeably. Both describe a drone that is destroyed when it strikes its target.
What is the Switchblade?
The Switchblade is a family of U.S. loitering munitions made by AeroVironment. The Switchblade 300 targets enemy personnel, while the larger Switchblade 600 carries an anti-armor warhead.
How long can a Switchblade 600 stay in the air?
A U.S. arms sale notice says the Switchblade 600 has a flight endurance of over sixty minutes.
Is the Shahed-136 a loitering munition?
It is often grouped with them. It is a larger, long-range one-way attack drone designed mainly for fixed targets.
Do loitering munitions choose targets on their own?
Operator-guided types such as the Switchblade rely on a person choosing the target. U.S. policy requires appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force.
This article was written by Peter with AI assistance and checked against the sources linked. See our AI use disclosure.
Sources
- Congressional Record: Arms sales notification (S4224)
- Congressional Research Service: DOD Replicator Initiative (IF12611)
- Congressional Research Service: Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (IF11150)
