What are the Iranian kamikaze drones, allegedly deployed by Russia in Ukraine?

Source: The post is based on the article “What are the Iranian kamikaze drones, allegedly deployed by Russia in Ukraine?” published in Indian Express on 19th October 2022.

What is the News?

Ukraine’s capital region was struck by kamikaze drones.

What are Kamikaze 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.

They are called Switchblade because their bladelike wings spring out on launch.

Countries possessing such drones: 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.

Key Features of the Kamikaze Drones

Lightweight: Weighing just five-and-a-half pounds, including its small warhead, the Switchblade can be taken into battle in a backpack and fly up to 7 miles to hit a target.

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

Can Adjust Blast Radius: The drone has a feature that allows the operator to adjust the blast radius. So, it can kill the driver of a vehicle but not a passenger, for example. The weapon can be “waived off” up to two seconds before impact.

Cameras for Centralised View of Area of Operation: The Switchblade also has cameras that show a target seconds before impact.