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 announcement ↗Initial 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