The Americans caught the UAV in the air
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has published a video showing the successful catching of an X-61A UAV in the air using a specially equipped C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft.
On the presented frames, the Americans showed how the next stage of flight tests took place as part of the Gremlin Air Vehicles (GAV) project, which provides for the creation of small drones that can work both independently and in a group. They will be able to exchange data and perform different tasks.
The X-61A UAV is being developed by Dynetics. Drone carriers should be B-52 Stratofortress, B-1B Lancer bombers and C-130 Hercules / Super Hercules military transport aircraft, as well as promising models of US Air Force aircraft. It is planned to launch UAVs with speeds up to Mach 0,8 at an altitude of over 12 meters. The duration of the flight of drones will be 1-3 hours, and the range will be from 555 to 956 km.
After completing the task, the drones must return to the carrier aircraft, which will pick them up in the air with a special manipulator. If necessary, UAVs will be able to land on the ground using a parachute system. Previous attempts to catch the drone in the air ended in failure, and the company had to refine the design of the manipulator.
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