Explained: What are Kamikaze drones, the ‘lethal’ weapon being sent by the US to Ukraine?

What is the News?

US has announced USD 800 million in new military aid for Ukraine including 800 additional Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, 9,000 antitank weapons, 100 tactical drones including Kamikaze or suicide drones.

What are Kamikaze Drones?

Kamikaze Drones are also called Switchblade drones. These are small unmanned aircraft that are packed with explosives that can be flown directly at a tank or a group of troops that are destroyed when it hits the target and explodes.

Key Features of Kamikaze Drones:

Less Cost: These drones have the capability of going past traditional defences to strike their targets, and also cost a fraction of what their larger counterparts do.

Difficult to Detect: These small lethal drones are difficult to detect on radar, and they can even be programmed to hit targets without human intervention, based on facial recognition.

Light Weight: These drones weigh just five-and-a-half pounds and can fly up to 7 miles to hit a target.

Cameras to show Target: These drones also have cameras that show a target seconds before impact.

Although the Kamikaze might be the most advanced form of this genre of drones, Russia, China, Israel, Iran and Turkey all have some version of it.

Source: This post is based on an article “Explained: What are Kamikaze drones, the ‘lethal’ weapon being sent by the US to Ukraine?” published in Indian Express on 22nd March 2022