Department of Defense Announces Successful Test of UAS Swarm
Last October, the Department of Defense’s Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO), in partnership with the Naval Air Systems Command, conducted a successful demonstration of a large swarm of micro-drones at China Lake, California.
As a part of the demonstration, the SCO flew a swarm of Perdix UAS, which were designed by engineering students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The UAS were launched off of three F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft.
“Due to the complex nature of combat, Perdix are not pre-programmed synchronized individuals, they are a collective organism, sharing one distributed brain for decision-making and adapting to each other like swarms in nature,” says SCO Director William Roper, via a Department of Defense press release.
“Because every Perdix communicates and collaborates with every other Perdix, the swarm has no leader and can gracefully adapt to drones entering or exiting the team.”
In 2013, scientists and engineers at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory began modifying the UAS for military use. During the demonstration in October, the swarm, which included 103 Perdix’s, accomplished several tasks including collective decision-making, adaptive formation flying, and self-healing.
“This is the kind of cutting-edge innovation that will keep us a step ahead of our adversaries,” says Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. “This demonstration will advance our development of autonomous systems.”
The demonstration was featured in last Sunday’s episode of 60 minutes, and can be seen here.
