DARPA ha lanzado el programa “Gremlins”, llamado as\u00ed por los diablillos imaginarios y traviesos que se convirtieron en los amuletos de la buena suerte de muchos pilotos brit\u00e1nicos durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. El programa prev\u00e9 el lanzamiento y recuperaci\u00f3n de grupos de UAS desde grandes aviones en servicio, tales como bombarderos o aeronaves de transporte, as\u00ed como desde cazas y otras plataformas de ala fija, permitiendo que los enjambres de UAS \/UCAS completen la misi\u00f3n asignada, mientras que los aviones “nodriza” est\u00e1n fuera del alcance de las defensas adversarias.\u00a0Cuando los “Gremlins” completan su misi\u00f3n, un avi\u00f3n de transporte C-130 los recoger\u00eda en el aire y los llevar\u00eda de regreso a su base, donde el personal de tierra los preparar\u00eda para su pr\u00f3ximo uso en 24 horas.<\/p>\n
For decades, U.S. military air operations have relied on increasingly capable multi-function manned aircraft to execute critical combat and non-combat missions. Adversaries\u2019 abilities to detect and engage those aircraft from longer ranges have improved over time as well, however, driving up the costs for vehicle design, operation and replacement. An ability to send large numbers of small unmanned air systems (UASs) with coordinated, distributed capabilities could provide U.S. forces with improved operational flexibility at much lower cost than is possible with today\u2019s expensive, all-in-one platforms\u2014especially if those unmanned systems could be retrieved for reuse while airborne. So far, however, the technology to project volleys of low-cost, reusable systems over great distances and retrieve them in mid-air has remained out of reach.<\/p>\n
To help make that technology a reality, DARPA has launched the Gremlins program. Named for the imaginary, mischievous imps that became the good luck charms of many British pilots during World War II, the program envisions launching groups of UASs from existing large aircraft such as bombers or transport aircraft\u2014as well as from fighters and other small, fixed-wing platforms\u2014while those planes are out of range of adversary defenses. When the gremlins complete their mission, a C-130 transport aircraft would retrieve them in the air and carry them home, where ground crews would prepare them for their next use within 24 hours.<\/p>\n
The gremlins\u2019 expected lifetime of about 20 uses could provide significant cost advantages over expendable systems by reducing payload and airframe costs and by having lower mission and maintenance costs than conventional platforms, which are designed to operate for decades.<\/p>\n
The Gremlins program plans to explore numerous technical areas, including:<\/p>\n
The program aims to conduct a compelling proof-of-concept flight demonstration that could employ intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and other modular, non-kinetic payloads in a robust, responsive, and affordable manner.<\/p>\n