The Office of Advanced Research Projects of the US Department of Defense within the framework of the Gremlins program ("Gremlins") conducted a successful test of the capture system by the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft of the X-61A unmanned aerial vehicle in the air. Writes about this The Drive.
The corresponding video is published on YouTube .
The publication notes that in this way the possibility of reusable use of drones was demonstrated, in particular the ability to start the second mission within 24 hours after the completion of the first. It is claimed that the tests carried out showed the correctness of the basic technical solutions laid down in the basis of the Gremlins program.
In January, Popular Mechanics magazine noticed that the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, from which the X-61A drones created under the Gremlins program will be deployed, is actually a "flying aircraft carrier". Thus, the publication commented on the tests conducted in November 2019 near the city of Salt Lake City (Utah), during which the X-61A, launched from the C-130 Hercules, was in the air for 101 minutes.
Gremlins provides for the creation of a system for launching and controlling the operation of a swarm of small and cheap reusable drones, each of which will be able to fly up to 1000 kilometers and will be equipped with a turbojet engine and a transmitter with a power of 700 to 1000 watts. The use of technologies developed within the framework of Gremlins can be seen in the video of the research laboratory of the US Air Force, which shows the possible technique of an American airstrike on enemy positions. According to the Pentagon, such techniques will be used in conflicts by 2030.
Ivan Potapov
