US Testing Drone Swarm Capability - Perdix Swarm

This is footage of a 2016 drone swarm test conducted by the US at China Lake, California. The Perdix Swarm Demonstrations and testing proved that these swarms could be dropped by aircraft at speeds up-to Mach 0.6 and at temperatures as low as -10 degrees C. These drones, specifically, were designed for aerial surveillance, though more applications would undoubtedly be evaluated (such as explosive payloads). 103 drones are dropped from three F/A-18's, converging on their final target a few minutes later.

Each individual drone is not controlled in itself but instead it shares a collective, distributed "brain," travelling in leaderless "swarms," members of which can adapt to changes in drone numbers and remain coordinated with their counterparts.
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[shaymcquaid]

Insane. I was an Infantryman in the 80's. I do not want to be an Infantryman in the 2030's.

[samael]

Oh wow. Hearing the sound of that drone swarm above, knowing that it's made by flying grenades, would be absolutely horrifying. Psychological warfare on par with the Stuka siren.

[bobjackson]

Whether these are recon or carry a small payload, it's terrifying to watch on a screen. Couldn't imagine having this form on you in real life.

[KFox]

Imagine hearing this on a night patrol

Intimidation factor is real

[Epimyst]

If this was 2016, Imagine what they can do now that drones are proven highly effective in combat...

[TheMichaelBeck]

I'm sure they're way more advanced by now. Imagine being an infantry soldier, hunkered down at night, and you hear the sound of all those drones, and you realize "That's a swarm!", but by then, it's too late.

[biffmalibu]

I could totally see myself explaining the sound these things make to my VA shrink.

[Nxiety]

One day, this is gonna become another terrifying sounds of war. With dozens of drones coming for attack, it sounds like the sky is screaming for death.

[Kreedogger]

Remember in Vietnam when auditory warfare was deployed with the loudspeakers mounted on boats that blared extremely disturbing sounds and voices? These swarm drone drops are next level except this time its not just a recording coming from an auditory source. The sound of these drones signifies that enemy location awareness has been achieved and they make it known. It can and should panic enemy forces.

[InfectedByZanza]

This footage is from 2016, but drones were first used in Desert storm, they had gps signals on them to emulate fighter jets, activating SAM sites, SAM sites would use their AA ammunition on the drones instead of real jets. When SAM sites activated, F18s fired their HARM (high speed anti radiation missiles) that use RADIO frequency of the SAM site to guide them to the target.

[ElegantMessTechPC]

And imagine how much they've evolved over the last 8yrs...friggin' crazy !

[danielbermingrud]

Tech moved hard since 2016. thats for sure.

[MetalBadger]

2:20 the terrifying sound of a new era

[Mahbu]

That moment when the drones formed a circle. . and then converged on the center. That right there is the stuff of nightmares. Anyone remember the movie Screamers?

[keelanmcgurk]

Well, that’s delightfully horrifying 😅

[T.efpunkt]

1) Integrate such a swarm into himars launched missiles.
2) Equip all drones with different sensors ( ⅓ IR, ⅓ radar, ⅓ visual) and warheads (⅓HE, ⅓AT, ⅓ frag), this gives you all options with minimal size per drone.
3) Teach swarm AI to search area of operation, locate and designate targets to individual drones.
4) Man in the loop option fits here.
5) First wave of drones goes in.
6) rest observes result, reevaluates situation.
7) next wave goes in.
8) repeat step 6-7 until all drones are gone.
9) ???
10) If you're one of the engineers working on this and you guys are still looking for a catchy name, consider naming your product "Skynet", especially if you leave out step 4.

[leetackett]

Glad to see they didn’t demonetize everything you post. I barely see anything now

[FishyHandle]

Reminds me so much of the Protos Carriers from StarCraft.

[everypitchcounts]

The ground base launcher version is called LOCUST swarm system. The new interceptor drone is called Roadrunner.

[uku]

Finally Starcraft players can have a job in the military.