Buying guide
AeroVironment Switchblade (300/600) vs MQ-9 Reaper in 2026
Comparing 2 humanoid robots across availability, pricing, capabilities, and verified deployments. Current as of 2026.
| Attribute | No image on file | No image on file |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | AeroVironment | General Atomics Aeronautical Systems |
| Form factor | aerial | aerial |
| Maturity | production | production |
| Availability | internal-onlyenterprise | internal-onlyenterprise |
| Price | Not announced | Not announced |
| Capability claims | — | — |
| Brain | — | — |
| Verified deployments | 1Kyiv | 0 |
| Privacy practices | — | — |
| Sources on file | 5 | 4 |
Editorial summaries
AeroVironment Switchblade (300/600)
AeroVironment's Switchblade is a family of tube-launched loitering munitions: the Switchblade 300 (anti-personnel) and Switchblade 600 (anti-armor). These are military weapon systems, not consumer products, so there is no consumer price. They are mass-produced and supplied to the US Army under a nearly $1B IDIQ and sent to Ukraine; the US Army program of record is LMAMS (Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System). As a legacy-prime loitering-munition archetype, the Switchblade is operator-launched and operator-committed to target: it is not a fully autonomous weapon, and the autonomy framing for loitering munitions is cap-flagged honestly. Recorded at production maturity on named contracts and combat fielding.
MQ-9 Reaper
The MQ-9 Reaper, from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, is the canonical legacy-prime medium-altitude long-endurance drone and the AI-augmented-not-autonomous contrast to the new-defense AI-first triangle. The MQ-9A (first flight 2001, in service since May 2007) is a remotely-piloted aircraft flown by a crew of three (pilot, sensor operator, mission intelligence coordinator) from a ground control station, with about 30 hours of ISR or 23 hours of armed endurance, a 3,800-pound payload, and AGM-114 Hellfire and GBU-12/38 munitions; the MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian adds 40-plus hours and civil-airspace integration (the UK operates it as Protector RG Mk1). It is fielded across the US DoD and allied air forces; the MQ-9A line closed production in 2025 while the MQ-9B is in production. Its AI is augmentation, not autonomy: sensor fusion, ISR processing, and targeting assistance run while a human crew flies the aircraft and makes mission decisions. It is defense procurement equipment; there is no consumer price.
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