The U.S. Air Force is seeking technology that could turn cargo and other mobility aircraft into launch platforms for uncrewed drone swarms, with missions ranging from aircraft self-protection to autonomous defense of forward operating bases. The concept, outlined in a Small Business Innovation Research solicitation, calls for artificial-intelligence-controlled drones that can be deployed from transport aircraft and then organize themselves to monitor and defend a designated perimeter.
The service describes the objective as creating “adaptive, force-multiplying launch platforms” able to provide “a rapidly deployable swarm for base security.” The solicitation, which has an Oct. 21 deadline, seeks a system in which a mobility aircraft and its associated drones can deploy to an Air Force base, after which the swarm would autonomously help defend the installation and aircraft on the ground.
One swarm concept, multiple missions
The Air Force envisions three related uses for the capability. First, it wants transport aircraft to gain onboard intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capacity by acting as high-altitude drone motherships. The solicitation points to a 2021 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency demonstration in which a C-130 recovered an X-61 Gremlin in midair. A footnote also cites Air Mobility Command discussion of using KC-135 tankers as drone launch platforms.
Second, the service wants improved self-protection for Mobility Air Forces operating in contested airspace. The solicitation links that requirement to the vulnerability of high-value aircraft, noting the Iran war, in which Iranian strikes destroyed or damaged American tankers and airborne warning and control system aircraft at Persian Gulf air bases. Third, the drones would be used to bolster security at forward bases from which transport and other aircraft operate.
Transport planes can be “significantly augmented with enhanced organic self-protection and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities to maintain operational overmatch.”
U.S. Air Force SBIR solicitation
“Similarly, forward operating bases can bolster their security posture by leveraging rapidly deployable, autonomous perimeter defense networks.”
U.S. Air Force SBIR solicitation
Phase II demonstration requirements
The effort is proceeding directly to Phase II of the SBIR process, rather than beginning with the customary Phase I. The Air Force said it was taking that approach because “the fundamental scientific and technical merit of coordinating multiple uncrewed aerial systems via artificial intelligence has already been established by the private sector.”
During Phase II, contractors are expected to demonstrate that cargo aircraft can deploy drone swarms at operational altitudes in scenarios simulating Mobility Air Forces operations. They must also demonstrate a swarm’s ability to autonomously monitor and defend a designated perimeter using onboard visual and thermal sensors.
The Air Force wants common AI software to support the airborne-launch and base-defense portions of the concept. Under the solicitation, the software should allow the drones to transition seamlessly from aerial deployment into a coordinated flight pattern and then autonomously conduct a perimeter-defense monitoring route. Secure command and control is another stated requirement: the service wants encrypted military communications in place of readily available data links, aligned with Department of the Air Force standards.
Potential uses beyond Air Force bases
The solicitation also identifies possible Phase III dual-use applications, including domestic missions for the National Guard. The Air Force suggested that a high-altitude swarm launched from a mobility platform could quickly create a wide-area sensor network for rescue units searching for survivors after natural disasters. Ground units could employ the same approach for persistent, autonomous border surveillance.
Other potential applications include National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration swarms flown into hurricanes. Commercially, the Air Force said, a ruggedized and secure swarm capability could be extended to advanced disaster response, large-scale search-and-rescue operations and commercial aviation monitoring.
