Role & capabilities
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- ideaForge
- Origin / production countries
- India
- Other names
- SWITCH UAV; SWITCH 1.0; SWITCH MINI
- Variants / configurations
- SWITCH 1.0; High Altitude SWITCH; SWITCH MINI
- Operators / programme customers
- Indian Army — delivery reported by manufacturer
Evidence & current status
Army delivery is documented by the manufacturer. Specifications vary by generation and configuration.
SWITCH combines vertical take-off and landing with fixed-wing cruise in a portable surveillance aircraft. This places it between small hovering quadcopters and larger runway-dependent reconnaissance systems. ideaForge reported completion of its initial Indian Army SWITCH 1.0 contract in January 2022, and its January 2025 programme account describes SWITCH MINI's Indian military-use certification.
The manufacturer publishes more than 120 minutes of endurance and describes day-and-night surveillance. Its public material also describes high-altitude deployment, but launch-site altitude should not be confused with height above the surrounding terrain or with a service ceiling. The specifications below preserve those labels rather than combining them into a new altitude claim.
The family name spans successive commercial and military descriptions. A 2020 comparison table lists a lower weight than a later product account, so this profile uses the later under-seven-kilogram statement with its source. Contract completion establishes delivery of a named configuration; it does not establish that every later feature or accessory was present on the original aircraft.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Fixed-wing aircraft with vertical take-off and landing | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source |
| Launch / recovery | VTOL | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source |
| Propulsion | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Dimensions | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Mass | Under 7 kg | Later supplier description; earlier SWITCH figures differ. Source |
| Endurance | More than 120 minutes | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source |
| Range | Up to 15 km | Older supplier operating-range table; not total flight distance. Source |
| Speed | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Altitude | Launch sites up to 4,500 m above mean sea level; flight up to 1,000 m above ground stated | Different altitude references; do not add them as a universal service ceiling. Source |
| Payload | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Sensors | Day and night surveillance payloads | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source |
| Communications / navigation | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
Documented milestones
SWITCH MINI certification update
Manufacturer reported Fit for Indian Military Use certification.
Read the announcementInitial army delivery reported complete
ideaForge announced completion of the SWITCH 1.0 order.
Read the announcement
Publication history
- — Added a sourced global catalogue profile with configuration-specific data and explicit evidence limits.
Suggest a correction to this entry
Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- ideaForge: SWITCH design and operating specifications (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer
- ideaForge: SWITCH 1.0 delivery completed, 25 January 2022 (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer
- ideaForge: SWITCH MINI programme update, January 2025 (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer
- ideaForge: UAV comparison table (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer