more at
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/17698/chinas-is-hard-at-work-developing-swarms-of-small-drones-on-multiple-levels
A mass drone attack on Russian forces in Syria has highlighted the very real
danger that small unmanned aircraft increasingly pose, even in the hands of
non-state groups. At the same time, it underscores how small drone swarms could
be a game-changing capability for larger nation states, including the United
technology in more structured environments.
...In June 2017, the state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporation,
or CETC, conducted its own record-breaking swarm experiment with nearly 120
unmanned fixed wing aircraft, as well. This event included simulated missions
where the entire formation acted as a whole and instances where smaller groups
broke away to complete separate objectives.
...The specific objectives of the NUDTs drone swarm experiments are unclear, as
single entity within the limits of existing technology. The U.S. military is
also engaged in a host of similar technology demonstration efforts regarding
drone swarms.
The NUDT's latest experiment looks very similar in concept to the U.S.
Department of Defense's Strategic Capabilities Office's tests with Perdix, a
miniature air-dropped unmanned aircraft, and the U.S. Navy's Low-Cost UAV
Swarming Technology project, which used Raytheon's Coyote, another small
fixed-wing drone. Both of these efforts focused as much on the software, which
allowed the swarms to respond in unison to commands and operate autonomously
based on pre-programmed instructions, all while avoiding running into each
other, as the hardware itself.
Small groups of networked drones could significantly change how military forces
operate in the future. Our own Tyler Rogoway explained some potential scenarios
in a feature last year on the need for new short-range air defenses, or SHORAD
systems, writing:
with a target area location, along with other mission parameters, these swarms
will be extremely hard to defend against using even the best SHORAD systems in
development today. It's the saturation nature of the attack, the size of the
attackers, and the fact that they work as a coordinated swarm, employing dynamic
tactics to see as many in their company survive long enough to make their
suicidal attack, that make them so deadly. They could even drop micro-munitions
and be reused for a later attack. Just the knowledge that such an attack is
possible would be psychologically stressful and demoralizing for troops on the
ground.
Similar swarming strikes could be unleashed behind the front lines as well, with
hugely expensive and low density/high demand combat aircraft being especially
inadvertently while speaking to the Air Force Association, stating:
"Imagine a world where somebody flies a couple hundred of those and flies one
down the intake of my F-22s with just a small weapon on it."
vulnerable on the flight line. One swarm could see a whole squadron of tightly
Syrian operation, it does give us our first glimpses of a new age in modern
will be able to wreak havoc on targets. Russian defenses, and those of other
countries for that matter, may be able to fend off a handful of these improvised
drones executing a very loosely coordinated attack, but a near peer-state
competitor could field a much denser, more nimble, adaptable, and networked
force. And as we have mentioned before, there is no known kinetic defense to
"Although it may sound like a page out a science fiction novel, the only thing
that could probably counter such a dense swarming attack on ground forces or a
garrisoned force would be for those forces to have their own counter-swarm
swarms at the ready. This would result in dozens or even hundreds of mini
hive-minded flying robots."
more at
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/17698/chinas-is-hard-at-work-developing-swarms-of-small-drones-on-multiple-levels
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