US Air Force seeks cargo plane-launched

The US Air Force wants to turn its cargo planes into launch platforms for defensive drone swarms. According to a service solicitation, the goal is to create a rapidly deployable, autonomous perimeter defense network for Air Force bases.

The initiative, outlined in an Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) document, seeks to transform transport aircraft into adaptive, force-multiplying launch platforms. The deadline for proposals is October 21. The project is skipping the customary Phase I of an SBIR and proceeding directly to Phase II, a move the Air Force says is due to proven private-sector advances in coordinating multiple drones via artificial intelligence.

A dual-purpose capability

The Air Force is looking for a system that fulfills two primary missions using the same AI software. One mission is to provide transport aircraft with enhanced onboard intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities by acting as high-altitude drone motherships. A footnote in the SBIR also mentions Air Mobility Command discussions about using KC-135 tankers as launch platforms.

The second mission is organic self-protection for Mobility Air Forces operating in contested airspace. The SBIR explained that transport planes can be significantly augmented with such capabilities to maintain operational overmatch. Also, drone swarms would protect the forward bases from which these aircraft operate.

Technical requirements for the swarm

Phase II requires contractors to demonstrate how cargo planes can deploy drone swarms at operational altitudes to simulate real-world scenarios. The drones themselves must show an ability to autonomously monitor and defend a designated perimeter using onboard visual and thermal sensors.

The Air Force specified that the artificial intelligence software should seamlessly transition from aerial deployment into a coordinated flight pattern and then execute a perimeter defense monitoring route. Another critical requirement is secure, encrypted military communications to replace readily available data links, ensuring command and control aligns with Department of the Air Force standards and prevents hacking.

Potential dual-use applications

The SBIR outlines potential Phase III applications beyond core defense missions, including domestic operations by the National Guard. The Air Force suggested that by rapidly deploying a high-altitude drone swarm from mobility platforms, rescue units could gain an instant, wide-area sensor net to locate survivors during natural disasters.

Ground units could also deploy the swarm for persistent, autonomous border surveillance. Other potential uses include National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration drone swarms flying into hurricanes. Commercially, the ruggedized, secure swarm capability could be expanded for advanced disaster response, large-scale search-and-rescue, and commercial aviation monitoring.

The service noted that a base defense capability would have been valuable during the Iran war, when Iranian strikes destroyed or damaged American tankers and airborne warning and control system aircraft parked at Persian Gulf airbases. The source for this report is Defense News correspondent Michael Peck.