<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12189715" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="darpa" source="Orion">DARPA</keyword>'s Gremlins drone program hit another milestone in October.</li><li>During the test, a C-130 aircraft recovered a <keyword id="12704319" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gremlin" source="Orion">Gremlin</keyword> drone in flight for the first time.</li></ul><p>The <keyword id="12704318" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="defense-advanced-research-projects-agency" source="Orion">Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency</keyword>, the US military's top research agency, has hit another milestone in its Gremlin program, an effort to develop an unmanned aerial system to overwhelm and neutralize enemy forces.</p><p>During a DARPA-led test earlier this year, one of those drones, known as Gremlins, was successfully recovered in flight by a C-130 aircraft.</p><p>If they can perform the mission the US military has in mind, Gremlins might revolutionize warfare, helping the US ensure air superiority in a war with sophisticated adversary, such as China or Russia.</p><h2>The Gremlins are coming</h2><div type="image" title="DARPA Gremlins drone test recovery" height="1200" width="2000" msid="88192170" hostid="261"></div><p>Launched in 2015 and named after the fictional mischievous creatures, Gremlin unmanned aerial systems are designed to be reusable and expendable.</p><p>The Pentagon wants lots of them, and it wants them to be versatile and potentially armed. DARPA envisions them working collaboratively — in a "swarm" — to take down targets. The idea is to create an unmanned air system that can work with other unmanned platforms and be retrievable while airborne.</p><p>The October test began with two X-61 Gremlins flying in formation. The Gremlin slowly approached the C-130 from below — like an F-22 Raptor fighter jet would approach a KC-135 aerial tanker — and hooked itself onto a tangling cable.</p><p>The drone was then reeled inside the C-130, marking the first time one has been <a href="https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-11-05" target="_blank" rel="noopener">successfully retrieved</a> in flight. After inspecting the recovered Gremlin, the testers sent it on another mission within 24 hours.</p><div type="image" title="DARPA Gremlins drone test recovery" height="1090" width="1174" msid="88192172" hostid="261"></div><p>DARPA conducted a total of four flights and gathered data on the Gremlins' flight performance, interaction with the mothership, and airborne retrieval phase.</p><p>The program may still have a ways to go, as one Gremlin — presumably the one that wasn't recovered in flight — was destroyed.</p><p>It isn't clear what sensors the small unmanned aerial system could carry, but some options are intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) sensors to enhance the situational awareness of nearby aircraft or troops on the ground, and electronic-warfare jammers, to "clear" the way for airstrikes by manned aircraft.</p><p>The Gremlin can carry about 150 pounds, which will probably limit its payload to small munitions, such as the AGM-114 Hellfire missile.</p><h2>Don't feed them after midnight!</h2><div type="image" title="DARPA Gremlins drone test recovery" height="1333" width="2000" msid="88192174" hostid="261"></div><p>The Gremlins are the Pentagon's response to the increased aircraft-detection, anti-aircraft, and anti-drone capabilities of near-peer adversaries.</p><p>For the past 20 years, the US military has enjoyed an uncontested air superiority against less-advanced foes. But now, as competition with capable rivals like Russia and China intensifies, air superiority would be contested throughout a conflict.</p><p>Gremlins are intended to be cheap. DARPA plans for Gremlins to be used about 20 times and to need considerably less time and expense to operate and maintain than more sophisticated manned and unmanned aircraft, which are designed to be in service for decades.</p><p>A key assumption is that Gremlins will be retrievable and thus reusable, driving down costs. Airborne recovery and launch will also increase the Gremlins' range and increase the survivability of the motherships, as they could launch the drones from longer distances, remaining outside the anti-aircraft umbrella of an adversary.</p><p>After a Gremlin has completed its mission, it would fly to a mothership and be retrieved. Then, after a 24-hour maintenance session, it will be able to conduct another mission.</p><div type="image" title="DARPA Gremlins drone test recovery" height="1125" width="2000" msid="88192176" hostid="261"></div><p>If the airborne retrieval part of the program doesn't succeed, then DARPA and the Pentagon would have to rethink their project's viability and goals.</p><p>A second key assumption is that the Gremlins will be able to fly in a swarm, ideally with as few motherships as possible. To achieve that swarm capability, DARPA wants to be able to launch and retrieve four Gremlins within 30 minutes. If the testers can't achieve that, then the Gremlin program would again have to refocus and be redirected.</p><p>According to DARPA, the Gremlin program will require a "mothership," such as a B-52 Stratofortress bomber, AC-130 Spooky gunship, MC-130 Commando II transport, F-35 Lighting II fighter, or even another remotely piloted aircraft.</p><p>The Gremlin program is only the latest by DARPA, which was created in 1958, after the Soviets beat the US into space with the Sputnik satellite.</p><p>The agency is the Pentagon's main arm for researching and developing cutting-edge projects to maintain the US military's technological advantage. While that advantage is <a href="https://www.19fortyfive.com/2021/11/is-the-u-s-military-losing-its-biggest-advantage-to-china/">being eroded</a> by near-peer competitors, DARPA is still innovative with efforts to <a href="https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/darpas-newest-sub-hunting-weapon-is-shrimp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hunt subs</a>, improve <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-f-16-pilot-will-battle-ai-in-simulated-dogfight-2020-8">pilots' dogfighting skills</a>, deploy <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marines-train-with-darpa-squad-x-autonomous-robot-battle-buddies-2019-7">autonomous systems</a>, and prepare for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/darpa-looks-for-underground-robot-as-army-readies-to-fight-underground-2018-8">future subterranean warfare</a>.</p><p><em>Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate.</em></p>

DARPA's latest 'Gremlins' test shows how the US military's biggest planes could be motherships in future wars

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A Chinese defense contractor recently test-launched a <keyword id="1297748" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Swarm">swarm</keyword> of <keyword id="10120213" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="loitering-munitions">loitering munitions</keyword> from a light tactical vehicle, and there's a video of the system in action.</li><li>Loitering munitions, more commonly known as suicide <keyword id="94769" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="drones">drones</keyword>, fill a capability gap between cruise missiles and traditional fixed-wing combat drones by lingering over the battlefield.</li><li><keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> is not alone in exploring swarm drone capabilities, but it has made significant strides in recent years.</li></ul><p>China has a suicide drone filled with explosives that can loiter over the battlefield and hunt for targets, and a defense firm recently test-launched a swarm of them out of the back of a truck.</p><p>China Academy of Electronics and Information Technology, a subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, has released a video of a test conducted in September, during which a Chinese light tactical vehicle launched a swarm of loitering munitions, commonly known as suicide or kamikaze drones.</p><p>The video of the test, which was <a href="https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/37062/china-conducts-test-of-massive-suicide-drone-swarm-launched-from-a-box-on-a-truck">first reported by The War Zone</a>, also showed drones being deployed from a helicopter.</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JUg5GZqttkA" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>The launcher on the truck has a total of 48 cells, suggesting that a single truck could launch dozens of loitering munitions, which fill the gap between cruise missiles and more unmanned combat aerial vehicles.</p><p>Loitering munitions are fitted with extendable wings and a camera and carry high-explosive warheads that can linger over an area while an operator searches for potential targets.</p><p>It is unclear exactly what type of drone was used in the test, but it is reminiscent of the 20-pound CH-901 suicide drone, China's first tactical attack drone.</p><p>This heavy loitering munition, which was unveiled about four years ago, can be used against personnel, light vehicles, and potentially enemy armor. The CH-901 is similar to the Switchblade, a US system that was first unveiled in 2011 and has been used in combat, although the Chinese drone is much heavier.</p><p>The CH-901, which may or may not have been the weapon recently test-fired en masse, can spend two hours in the air and fly at speeds just under 100 mph, the <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3105670/china-tests-swarm-suicide-drones-launched-truck-and-helicopters">South China Morning Post reported</a>.</p><p>Toward the end of the CAEIT video, a swarm of at least 11 drones can be seen flying together. An operator equipped with a tablet, which appears to be the command interface platform, selects several targets for the drones to engage.</p><p>It is not clear whether this system has already been deployed with the People's Liberation Army. Chinese military insiders told SCMP that China is still trying to overcome various technical issues, such as slow-to-react artificial intelligence and the need for mor effective counter-jamming capabilities.</p><p>China has made great strides in the area of swarming drones in recent years. Not only did CAEIT set a record by operating 200 fixed-wing drones at once two years ago, but China has, on more than one occasion, demonstrated large swarm operations with standard quadcopters.</p><p>China is not alone, though, in its pursuit of swarm drone capabilities.</p><p>The Office of Naval Research <a href="https://www.onr.navy.mil/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2015/LOCUST-low-cost-UAV-swarm-ONR.aspx">has been developing multi-tube launchers for Coyote drones</a> as part of its Low-Cost UAV Swarming Technology (LOCUST) program, which the Navy first demonstrated in 2015. The drones can be launched from both ground- and ship-based cells.</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qW77hVqux10" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>Other military outfits are also looking at various swarm capabilities. For example, one Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program explored launching dozens of recoverable Gremlin drones from a C-130 Hercules.</p><p>Militaries are interested in swarming drones because they offer a lot of capability, be it reconnaissance, communications jamming, or kinetic strike, and potential defenses against these combat systems are insufficient, disproportionately expensive or still very immature.</p>

China is practicing unleashing swarms of suicide drones packed with explosives from the backs of trucks

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/576c15b89105844e018cb2ca-1240/gremlinsconcept.png" alt="Gremlin Concept DARPA" data-mce-source="DARPA" data-link="http://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2016-03-31"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2016-03-31">DARPA</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The term "science fiction" has been losing its meaning ever since the US' <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword> Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) started to develop a new drone system. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Called the "<a href="http://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2016-03-31" target="_blank">Gremlin</a>" program, these </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">low-cost, reusable unmanned air systems (UAS) have been developed to be retrieved and reused while still in mid-air. Although the concept of reusing drones is </span><a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/darpa-gremlin-drones-retrieved-after-missions/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">not</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> a new one, the program seeks to deploy the drones&#xa0;from one location and then retrieve them&#xa0;from&#xa0;a&#xa0;different one. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This would effectively enable the military's massive C-130s to retrieve them in mid-air after a mission, and then allow ground crews to perform maintenance on them so that they would be&#xa0;capable for another one&#xa0;within 24 hours.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div><iframe src="//giphy.com/embed/xT8qBq4UcxNtupX9h6" width="840" height="427" frameborder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><p><a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/xT8qBq4UcxNtupX9h6">via GIPHY</a></p></div></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Gremlin's projected 20-uses would provide huge savings to the military - considering their low-cost factor would make them expendable. Compared to the bulkier and costlier drones in the fleet which are designed to be used for over 10 years, the loss of a Gremlin from inclement weather or being shot down is theoretically negligible. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Having to lose a few units during a mission seems to be expected by the US military, as they plan on sending them in swarms to retrieve data and intelligence from the drone's <a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/darpa-gremlin-drones-retrieved-after-missions/" target="_blank">camera and sensors</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So far the program is in <a href="http://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2016-03-31" target="_blank">Phase 1</a>, which is to provide a proof-of-concept flight demonstration that includes air recovery of multiple Gremlins. Going forward, researchers also plan on trying to maintain a low-profile to prevent extensive modifications for the existing planes that would be housing them, such as bombers, carriers, fighters, and other fixed-wing aircraft.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Watch the entire video from&#xa0;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOIHBHRbvncMo7Bf0Vx1zEQ" data-ytid="UCOIHBHRbvncMo7Bf0Vx1zEQ" data-sessionlink="itct=CDEQ4TkiEwjosOOf0b7NAhUDjJwKHUZODvIo-B0">DARPAtv</a>:</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div><iframe width="840" height="472.5" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/77gTSr07Jqs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/there-was-an-amazing-drone-ballet-in-japan-2016-5">A 'drone ballet' in Japan is the world's coolest music and light show</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Jsb3FnMzE60kpN6Bph5WOL-HFXuT4R9e" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'Jsb3FnMzE60kpN6Bph5WOL-HFXuT4R9e',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The US military is developing a swarming army of drones

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ab96c0a631af031008b45d3-1164/fx%20sixth%20generation%20fighter%20jet.png" border="0" alt="F:X Sixth Generation Fighter Jet" data-mce-source="AFResearchLab/YouTube" data-mce-caption="The conceptual sixth-generation F/X." data-link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPZpp_Y6Er8"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPZpp_Y6Er8">AFResearchLab/YouTube</a></span></p><p class="caption">The conceptual sixth-generation F/X.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>US&#xa0;Air Force Research Laboratory recently released a video showing a conceptual design of a sixth-generation fighter jet.</strong></li><li><strong>The video, which shows other futuristic technology, was released to plug&#xa0;AFRL's&#xa0;"Science &amp; Technology 2030" initiative.</strong></li><li><strong>The video shows the conceptual sixth-generation fighter, known as the F/X, firing a high-energy laser that cuts another fighter jet in half.</strong></li></ul><hr><p><br>The US&#xa0;Air Force Research Laboratory recently <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2018/03/26/check-out-this-new-video-with-the-air-forces-coolest-future-tech/">released a video showing</a> what its conceptual sixth-generation fighter jet might be like.</br></p><p>The Air Force released the video to plug its "<a href="https://afresearchlab.com/index.html?scrollTo=2030" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Science &amp; Technology</a> <a href="https://afresearchlab.com/index.html?scrollTo=2030" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2030</a>" initiative," which Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson launched in September 2017.&#xa0;</p><p>The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPZpp_Y6Er8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> shows a conceptual sixth-generation fighter jet, known as the F/X, firing what appears to be a high-energy laser that cuts another fighter in half.&#xa0;</p><p>Since at least 2015, the Air Force has been talking about mounting lasers on planes and jets, such as&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-preparing-test-laser-cannon-ultimate-battle-plane-2017-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AC-130s</a>, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lockheed-martin-gets-contract-to-develop-lasers-for-us-fighter-jets-2017-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">F-15s and F-16s</a>. Lockheed Martin was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lockheed-martin-gets-contract-to-develop-lasers-for-us-fighter-jets-2017-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently awarded a $26.5 million contract</a> to develop lasers for fighter jets.</p><p>It's still unclear what capabilities a sixth-generation fighter will hold, but it's <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a25832/sixth-generation-fighter-jets-already-taking-shape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speculated</a> that they will have longer range, larger payloads, and be able to switch between a manned and an unmanned aircraft.</p><p>They might also be able to travel at hypersonic speeds, carry hypersonic weapons, and <a href="http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/forget-the-f-22-or-f-35-americas-6th-generation-fighter-22566" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more</a>.</p><p>The Air Force hasn't selected a developer for the F/X, also known as Next-Generation Air Dominance or Penetrating Counter Air, but hopes to put it into service around 2030, <keyword id="6354810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="defense">Defense</keyword> <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">News</keyword> <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2018/03/26/check-out-this-new-video-with-the-air-forces-coolest-future-tech/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, quoting&#xa0;Brig. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ab968ee4861b51f008b45ac-848/screen%20shot%202018-03-26%20at%2053926%20pm.png" border="0" alt="sixth-generation fighter F/x conceptual laser" data-mce-source="Screenshot/US Air Force"><p class="source"><span>Screenshot/US Air Force</span></p><p class="caption">The conceptual F/X laser weapon.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>The AFRL program will host events at universities across the US this spring and summer to "listen and learn from the scientific community, higher education and business professionals through a series of conversations and outreach events," its website <a href="https://afresearchlab.com/index.html?scrollTo=2030" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reads</a>.</p><p>"In order to defend America, we need your help to innovate smarter and faster," according to AFRL's website. "Our warfighters depend on us to keep the fight unfair and we will deliver."</p><p>In addition to the F/X, the&#xa0;AFRL video features the Air Force's "Loyal Wingman" initiative, in which a manned fighter jet can command and control a swarm of attack and surveillance drones.</p><p>It also showcases <a href="https://www.darpa.mil/program/gremlins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DARPA's "Gremlin" program</a>, and the Air Force's&#xa0;Counter-electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project, a conceptual kind of missile that can cause electronic blackouts.&#xa0;</p><p>Watch the video below:</p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HPZpp_Y6Er8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-russia-is-so-involved-in-the-syrian-civil-war-2018-3">Why Russia is so involved in the Syrian Civil War</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/nh1YShZl-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div></hr>

You Searched For "gremlin drones" and got 4 results

DARPA's latest 'Gremlins' test shows how the US military's biggest planes could be motherships in future wars

Stavros Atlamazoglou

China is practicing unleashing swarms of suicide drones packed with explosives from the backs of trucks

Ryan Pickrell

The US military is developing a swarming army of drones

David Choi

The US Air Force just gave a sneak peak of its plans for the next-generation of fighter jets

Daniel Brown