Air Force wants UAV swarms

The Air Force wants to pummel the enemy with massed swarms of small, armed UAVs. The vision: hordes of UAVs so cheap that attrition isn't an issue, according to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) broad agency announcement.

Resource: Read the broad agency announcement

The swarms would "provide long range, high speed strike capability in remote regions where forward basing is difficult or prohibited," according to the BAA.

The Low Cost Attritable UAS Flight Demonstration concept focuses on quantity even at the expense of quality. "UAS performance and design life/reliability drive the cost of today's systems," AFRL noted. "Performance, design life, reliability, and maintainability with their associated cost need to be traded to achieve the cost imposing strategy."

The Air Force eventually plans to release a $7.5 million, 30-month contract.

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