‘It will save lives on the battlefield’: Fort Hood soldiers train on new Switchblade drone missile system

FORT HOOD, Texas (KWTX) - American soldiers are always looking for new ways to get the edge on the battlefield.

The 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team is training on the Switchblade 600 missile drone system.

It’s a remote-controlled missile that can travel more than 25 miles and take down heavy armored vehicles far from the front lines.

“There’s about a five pound payload from a Javelin anti-tank missile, onboard a battery-operated drone basically,” said Martin VanBuren, Flight Operations Supervisor with AeroVironment. “It’s about a 5-feet-long, 75-pound drone.”

According to AeroVironment, who makes the Switchblade, it has options other missiles don’t.

“This is one of the unique ones in the world that can actually fly and loiter for almost 45 minutes over a target, and then engage the