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                    "Many companies and militaries around the world, including a Saab concept for Sweden pictured here in 2025, are working to perfect drone-swarming tactics. (Saab)The U.S. Air Force is looking to turn its cargo planes into launch platforms for drone swarms.Or more specifically, the service would like transport aircraft and their retinue of drones to deploy to Air Force bases. Once there, this swarm of AI-controlled drones would autonomously defend the bases \u2014 and any aircraft parked there \u2014 from attack.The goal is to transform cargo planes into \u201cadaptive, force-multiplying launch platforms\u201d that provide \u201ca rapidly deployable swarm for base security,\u201d according to an Air Force Small Business Innovation Research solicitation. The deadline is Oct. 21.The Air Force is looking for a 3-for-1 deal. One mission is to provide transport aircraft with onboard intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities by enabling them to become high-altitude drone motherships, as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency demonstrated in 2021 when a C-130 recovered an X-61 Gremlin in mid-air. An X-61 Gremlin Air Vehicle drone and a C-130 during a flight test conducted by DARPA at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, on Oct. 29, 2021. During the flight test, DARPA said it successfully recovered a Gremlin in midair for the first time. (DARPA)A footnote in the SBIR also cites discussion by Air Mobility Command of using KC-135 tankers as launch platforms.Another mission is \u201cself-protection for Mobility Air Forces operating in contested airspace.\u201d Such a capability would have been welcome in the Iran war, during which Iranian strikes destroyed or damaged American tankers and airborne warning and control system aircraft parked at Persian Gulf airbases.Meanwhile, drone swarms would protect forward bases from which the transports and other aircraft operate.Transport planes can be \u201csignificantly augmented with enhanced organic self-protection and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities to maintain operational overmatch,\u201d explained the SBIR. \u201cSimilarly, forward operating bases can bolster their security posture by leveraging rapidly deployable, autonomous perimeter defense networks.\u201dIn a sign of how far drone and AI technology has advanced, the project is skipping the customary Phase I of an SBIR and going straight to Phase II.\u201cThe fundamental scientific and technical merit of coordinating multiple uncrewed aerial systems via artificial intelligence has already been established by the private sector,\u201d the Air Force noted.Phase II involves contractors demonstrating how cargo planes can deploy drone swarms \u201cat operational altitudes to simulate operational Mobility Air Forces scenarios.\u201d As for the drones, companies should show \u201cthe swarm\u2019s ability to autonomously monitor and defend a designated perimeter using onboard visual and thermal sensors.\u201dThe Air Force wants the same AI drone software to handle both missions. This means \u201cthe artificial intelligence software should be adapted to seamlessly transition from aerial deployment into a coordinated flight pattern and autonomously execute a perimeter defense monitoring route.\u201dAnother key is keeping the drones from being hacked. The Air Force is looking for \u201csecure, encrypted military communications, replacing readily available data links to ensure secure command and control that aligns with Department of the Air Force standards.\u201dThe SBIR also offers potential Phase III dual-use applications, including domestic missions by the National Guard. \u201cBy rapidly deploying a high-altitude drone swarm from mobility launch platforms, rescue units gain an instant, wide-area sensor net to expedite the location of survivors during natural disasters, while ground units can deploy the swarm for persistent, autonomous border surveillance,\u201d the Air Force suggested.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 Air Force said.About  Michael\u00a0PeckMichael Peck is a correspondent for Defense News and a columnist for the Center for European Policy Analysis. He holds an M.A. in political science from Rutgers University. Find him at theuncommondefense.com. His email is mikedefense1@gmail.com."
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