Drone Project – More Technological Flexibility is Needed

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The US Air Force is planning new demonstrations of its swarming drone technology following recent setbacks. The Golden Horde weapons system will undergo a new round of tests in February after failing to achieve some of its objectives in a December demonstration. The Air Force Research Laboratory will also reassess the long-term goal of the project to include more technological flexibility.

Golden Horde — which is part of the service’s Vanguard advanced technologies program — is envisioned as a collection of small networked expendable drones integrated by datalink radios and collaborative behaviors. The Air Force selected the technology for Vanguard in 2019 and demonstrated it last year.

In December, the Air Force Test Center dropped two small diameter bombs linked together from an F-16 fighter jet. The demonstration achieved nine out of 13 objectives but the bombs failed to hit their target. 

Brig. Gen. Heather R. Pringle, the head of the Air Force Research Laboratory said: “Things like the networked radios were working well … and [it was] another great demonstration of collaboration with the acquisition community,” she said. However, the weapons system failed to accept an updated flight profile from the autonomous onboard processor, causing the system to maintain its flight pattern and miss the target.

The upcoming tests will use four collaborative small diameter bombs in hopes of avoiding the mistakes of the previous demonstration, she was cited by nationaldefensemagazine.org. The upcoming analysis of the project includes a focus on allowing more testing, collaborative technologies and weapons solutions that can be “more plug and play.”

Vanguards such as this one are part of the transformational science and technology portfolio identified in the S&T 2030 Strategy. These innovative programs push boundaries by integrating several technology components to deliver new game-changing capabilities. By covering multiple domains and encompassing multidisciplinary solutions, the Air Force aims to deliver game-changing new operational capabilities that provide warfighters with superior advantages on the battlefield.