The US military has launched 103 miniature
swarming drones from a fighter jet during a test
in California.
Three F/A-18 Super Hornets were used to release
the Perdix drones last October.
The drones, which have a wingspan of 12in
(30cm), operate autonomously and share a
distributed brain.
A military analyst said the devices, able to dodge
air defence systems, were likely to be used for
surveillance.
Video footage of the test was published online by
the Department of Defense.
"Perdix are not pre-programmed synchronised
individuals, they are a collective organism,
sharing one distributed brain for decision-making
and adapting to each other like swarms in
nature," said William Roper, director of the
Strategic Capabilities Office.
"Because every Perdix communicates and
collaborates with every other Perdix, the swarm
has no leader and can gracefully adapt to drones
entering or exiting the team."
The drones were originally designed by
engineering students at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and were first modified for
military testing in 2013.
"When looking at how you deal with air defence
systems that are optimised to spot very large,
fast-moving aircraft, small, cheap disposable
drones seem to be one solution," said Elizabeth
Quintana, at the Royal United Services Institute, a
military think tank.
She added that the system would probably be
used for surveillance purposes in the near term.
In May, the US Navy tested a system that could
launch drones into the sky for rapid deployment.
Asian competition
And late last year, the Chinese also demonstrated
a swarm of larger, fixed-wing drones.
Ms Quintana pointed out that China had
significant resources both in electronics and
drone-manufacturing.
The world's best-selling consumer drones are
made by DJI, a Chinese company.
"They have a tremendous amount of expertise in
the country," she told the NIGERIAPEN
"It's going to be very interesting - it won't just
be about who has the biggest swarm but also
about who can out-manoeuvre who."
