---
title: "DARPA Gremlins Program Developing Swarms of Drones"
description: "Reusable networked drones would launch from and return to an aerial mothership."
date: "2016-04-21"
modified: "2019-04-04"
authors:
  - name: "Jonathon Ramsey"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/jonathon-ramsey"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/3106/darpa-gremlins-program-developing-swarms-of-drones"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "DARPA"
  - "Drones"
---

# DARPA Gremlins Program Developing Swarms of Drones

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/0421160-darpa-gremlin-hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

The military jargon describing the [Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Gremlins program](<https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2015-08-28>) is opaque and tedious, full of phrases like “volleys of low-cost, reusable systems,” “denied zones,” “aircraft integration concepts,” and “distributed air operations.” The layman’s translation of the program specs is something every futurist freak can get behind: swarms of drones launched at altitude from an airplane, flying into enemy territory to autonomously carry out missions, returning to a different mothership airplane at altitude when finished.

As part of its [systems of systems” initiatives](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77gTSr07Jqs>), DARPA wants a multi-mission aerial vehicle that’s [more flexible – and reusable – than a missile](<https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2015/08/military-wants-swarm-bots-retrieve-midair/119795/>) but less expensive to develop, maintain, and operate than a traditional plane. The agency imagines Gremlins taking off from a C-130 transport or even a fighter jet, from which they would fly into contested airspace to perform pre-attack reconnaissance or electronic jamming, to gather intelligence or surveil. The volume of drones would [prevent the enemy from shooting down](<https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/inventions/darpa-wants-to-recruit-gremlins/news-story/9924d695e311ff924bba970c455dad75>) all of them, at the same time increasing the chances of successful mission because the networked vehicles can reorganize their efforts autonomously.

The proposals suggest a [per-unit drone cost of $700,000](<https://www.wired.com/2016/04/darpas-developing-tiny-drones-swarm-motherships/>), three-hour mission capability, 20 total reuse cycles, and a 24-hour mission turnaround time. For comparison, the single-use AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missile costs from $17,000 to $110,000. The multi-use F-22 Raptor stealth fighter costs $150 million. The F-35 Lightning – which still isn’t ready – is pegged at anywhere [from $181 million to $300 million](<https://defense-update.com/20140103_much-f-35-really-costs.html>) per. Set next to those figures, $700,000 – just $35,000 per mission – is easy money.

[DARPA recently selected](<https://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/darpa-wants-to-swarm-enemy-skies-with-small-reusable-dr-1771922555>) Composite Engineering, Dynetics, General Atomics, and Lockheed Martin to [prepare solutions for Phase 1](<https://nextbigfuture.com/2016/04/darpa-awards-gremlin-drone-swarm.html>) of the [program examining](<https://testprepclub.org/gre/>) aspects such as airframe designs, launch and recovery techniques, and precision station keeping. Two of the four are drone veterans: General Atomics makes the Predator and Reaper drones, Composite Engineering builds the Skeeter military target drone. Lockheed’s former attempts in the field go way back to [the D-21 recon drone](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_D-21>) of 1962.

DARPA expects contractors to keep costs down [by using current technology](<https://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/2015/09/gremlin-drone-swarms.html>) and “efficient turbine engines.” Perhaps [the contractors can glean something](<https://www.news.com.au/technology/design/darpa-defence-science-organisation-wants-ideas-on-how-to-build-a-flying-drone-carrier/news-story/1242fae6e154f6a847d9d6a0248d8a75>) from DARPA’s [MALD drone decoy program](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADM-160_MALD>), aimed at suppressing enemy air defenses. When the Pentagon abandoned the program, [the Air Force picked it up](<https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a20459/swarms-of-gremlin-drones-darpa/>) and military supplier [Raytheon got it to work](<https://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/products/mald/>). The Air Force is now working on its own recoverable drone program allowing for 12-hour missions at a range of 2,000 miles.

The four Gremlins entrants have a year to deliver a mock-up. DARPA will choose two of them for Phase 2, with final selection and [flight demonstrations planned for 2020](<https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/darpa-gremlin-drones-retrieved-after-missions/>).

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