US Navy Demonstrates its LOCUST Launcher
The Low-Cost UAV Swarming Technology (LOCUST) launcher could fire dozens of drones out of a tube, which later expand in mid-air to create a swarm
Ami Rojkes Dombe
| 23/01/2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FukTsKmXOo
Last year, the Navy announced the Low-Cost UAV Swarming Technology (LOCUST) program, a plan to build a launcher that could fire dozens of drones out of a tube to create a swarm designed to "autonomously overwhelm an adversary."
A recent video posted to YouTube by US Navy Research shows the latest demo from last month, in which the launchers just effortlessly throw a swarm of nine into the air.
While the US military has been utilizing large, single drones for years now, reports the Popular Mechanics website, its future sights seem to be set on the potential for swarms of small, inexpensive, and expendable drones. The LOCUST system is meant for deployment from the ground or a ship, but both the Air Force and the Navy have been investigating the idea of air-launched drones and, by extension, the future motherships that might carry these little fliers as one of their primary weapons.
The Low-Cost UAV Swarming Technology (LOCUST) launcher could fire dozens of drones out of a tube, which later expand in mid-air to create a swarm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FukTsKmXOo
Last year, the Navy announced the Low-Cost UAV Swarming Technology (LOCUST) program, a plan to build a launcher that could fire dozens of drones out of a tube to create a swarm designed to "autonomously overwhelm an adversary."
A recent video posted to YouTube by US Navy Research shows the latest demo from last month, in which the launchers just effortlessly throw a swarm of nine into the air.
While the US military has been utilizing large, single drones for years now, reports the Popular Mechanics website, its future sights seem to be set on the potential for swarms of small, inexpensive, and expendable drones. The LOCUST system is meant for deployment from the ground or a ship, but both the Air Force and the Navy have been investigating the idea of air-launched drones and, by extension, the future motherships that might carry these little fliers as one of their primary weapons.
