A Gremlins Air Vehicle is being tested in Utah in October of 2021.
In October, the Gremlins program hit another milestone.
A C-130 aircraft recovered a Gremlin drone for the first time during the test.
The military wants Gremlins to help US aircraft out of range of enemy defenses.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the US military's top research agency, has hit another milestone in its Gremlin program, an effort to develop an aerial system to overwhelm and destroy enemy forces.
One of the drones, known as Gremlins, was successfully recovered in flight by a C-130 aircraft during a test earlier this year.
If Gremlins can perform the mission the US military has in mind, they could help the US ensure air superiority in a war with a sophisticated adversary, such as China or Russia.
The Gremlins are on their way.
A Gremlins Air Vehicle is being tested at the Dugway Proving Ground.
The Gremlin Unmanned aerial systems were launched in 2015 and are designed to be expendable.
The Pentagon wants them to be versatile and potentially armed. They would work together to take down targets. The idea is to create an air system that can be retrievable while airborne.
Two X 61 Gremlins flew in formation during the October test. The Gremlin slowly approached the C-130 from below, like an F-22 Raptor fighter jet would approach a KC-135 aerial tanker.
It was the first time that a drone has been successfully retrieved in flight. The Gremlin was sent on another mission after it was inspected.
A Gremlins Air Vehicle is being tested at the Dugway Proving Ground.
The Gremlins' flight performance, interaction with the mothership, and airborne retrieval phase were gathered by the DARPA.
One Gremlin that wasn't recovered in flight was destroyed, so the program may have a ways to go.
It is not clear what the small aerial system could carry, but some options are intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and electronic-warfare, to "clear" the way for nearby aircraft or troops on the ground.
The Gremlin can carry about 150 pounds, which will probably be used for small weapons, such as the Hellfire missile.
Don't feed them after midnight.
A Gremlins Air Vehicle is being tested at the Dugway Proving Ground.
The Gremlins are the Pentagon's response to the increased capabilities of adversaries.
The US military has had an air superiority over less-advanced foes for the past 20 years. Air superiority would be at stake in a conflict as Russia and China intensify their competition.
Gremlins are meant to be cheap. Gremlins will be used about 20 times and will need less time and expense to operate and maintain than more sophisticated manned and RQ-23 aircraft, which are designed to be in service for decades.
A key assumption is that Gremlins will be retrievable. The Gremlins' range will be increased and the motherships' survivability will be increased as they can launch the drones from longer distances.
The Gremlin would fly to a mothership and be retrieved after completing its mission. It will be able to conduct another mission after a 24 hour maintenance session.
A Gremlins Air Vehicle is being tested at the Dugway Proving Ground.
If the airborne part of the program doesn't work, then the Pentagon and the DARPA would have to rethink their project's viability and goals.
The Gremlins will be able to fly in a swarm with as few motherships as possible. To achieve swarm capability, DARPA wants to be able to launch and retrieve four Gremlins within 30 minutes. The Gremlin program would have to be diverted if the testers can't achieve that.
The Gremlin program will require a "mothership" such as a B-52 bomber, AC-130 gunship, MC-130 Commando II transport, F-35 Lighting II fighter, or even another remotely piloted aircraft.
The Gremlin program was created by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) after the Soviets beat the US into space with the Sputnik satellite.
The agency is the main arm of the Pentagon for researching and developing cutting-edge projects. The advantage is being eroded by competitors, but the DARPA is still innovative with efforts to hunt subs, improve pilots' dogfighting skills, and prepare for future subterranean warfare.
A Hellenic Army veteran, a defense journalist, and a graduate of the University of Baltimore are some of the things that Stavros Atlamazoglou is.
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