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Pentagon moves closer to ‘swarming drones’ capability with new systems test

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May 6, 2018 at 12:30 p.m. EDT
An artists' rendering shows a Gremlins unmanned aerial vehicle being recovered into a C-130 Cargo plane. Defense contractor Dynetics conducted preliminary tests of the launch and recovery systems earlier this year, with a full systems test planned for early 2019. (Image courtesy of Dynetics Inc.)

Flying aircraft carriers that launch and recover fleets of small, inexpensive drones could soon be part of the U.S. military arsenal, as the Pentagon works with private technology partners to engineer that vision into reality.

In late April the Pentagon’s ­advanced research-and-development arm, known as DARPA, awarded a 21-month, $38.6 million contract to Dynetics, a Huntsville, Ala.-based company that has an office in Arlington, to work on the software and technology. San Diego-based Kratos, a venture-funded tech company that specializes in cheap drones used for target practice, joined as a subcontractor and will build a new class of drones whose wings can be folded up for easier storage in the belly of a plane.