The U.S. Marine Corps is testing a small UAV with the potential to conduct kamikaze missions.
The scenario posited for the tests is one that troops could easily encounter on a real mission: an armed insurgent firing from a well-covered position, not easy to eliminate from the ground.
The aircraft, called the Switchblade, could fly either from a ground launch or from the back of an Osprey, directly to the insurgent’s position with a payload of bombs, according to the Washington Post.
The UAVs in the test carried no real explosives, but performed just as hoped, said Col. James Adams, commanding officer of Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1.
“They can kamikaze this thing into a target,” Adams said. “It’s not a huge explosive charge, but like a hand grenade explosive charge.”
The Marines and Army are already using the Switchblade for other kinds of missions, the Post reported.
