Technical Difficulties with Gremlins Recovery 

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The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) runs the Gremlins program. The initiative is trying to develop and test low-cost, attritable drones that can be air-launched and retrieved mid-air via a recovery system, in swarms, after which ground crews would prepare them for another use within 24 hours.

The drones could be used for a number of missions including as decoys, electronic warfare vehicles, surveillance platforms or loitering munitions.

Dynetics completed a second flight test of the X-61A Gremlins UAV in Utah in July. The company aborted an airborne recovery of the drone for an undisclosed reason, as it said on 26 August. The company says it will attempt to recover the UAV in flight before the end of the year. For that aerial recovery, the company will use a towed docking system which will be extended out of the cargo ramp of a Lockheed Martin C-130.

Though the aerial recovery portion of the test was aborted, Dynetics notes that all aspects of the Gremlins system were engaged, including aerial launch and recovery system, the airborne operator control station, and the UAV command, control and communications system.

The company says it believes that testing done in July should lower risks for the recovery demonstration later this year, according to flightglobal.com.