Dynetics unveils mock-up of Gremlin airborne launch and recovery drone

Huntsville-based Dynetics ha unveiled mock-up of their new Gremlin airborne launch and recovery unmanned aerial systems at the 2019 AUSA Global Force Symposium.

Deputy Editor at BreakingDefense.com, Sydney Freedberg posted on his Twitter account on 26 march image of Gremlin airborne launch and recovery drone.

“Dynetics mock-up of their Gremlin drone for DARPA, designed to launch from & return to C-130 turboprop,” Sydney Freedberg said in a Twitter post.

According to Dynetics, Gremlin is a low-cost, reusable unmanned aerial system for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Is expected that Gremlin drones will be launched from existing military aircraft (C-130 or C-17) while out of range of adversary defenses. The Gremlins architecture enables other critical technologies such as advanced payloads, autonomous operations, and distributed battle management of swarming systems.

When Gremlins complete their mission, a C-130 transport aircraft retrieves them in the air and transports them to a base of operations where ground crews refurbish and prepare them for their next use within 24 hours.

The Gremlins program explores numerous advanced technical areas, including:

▪ Airborne recovery of multiple air vehicles at high rates
▪ Low-cost, limited-life airframe designs
▪ Operational safety for execution of high-risk Gremlins missions

Also noted that in April 2018, Dynetics was selected as the top performer to finalize the design and ultimately demonstrate the ability to launch Gremlins air vehicles and then safely recover them onto a C-130 aircraft.