He United States Army The program started last August SCBDS (Symbiotic UAS Delivery System) that seeks to equip drones with compact-sized but very capable missiles. It is about creating a weapon small enough so that special operations forces can carry out ‘fire and forget’ attacks from medium-sized dronestaking advantage of advanced target recognition systems.
A ‘fire and forget’ missile is a guided projectile that, once launched, heads to the target without the need for control from the launch pad. It incorporates its own sensors or guidance systems – such as radar, infrared or computer vision – that allow it to locate and follow its target autonomously.
The call SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research), which closed last month, details the US military’s requirements. You want to be able to use it in drones Group 2 either 3; that is, unmanned aircraft with maximum takeoff weights of between 9.5 and 600 kilosDefense News reports.
The document indicates that the weapon must be self-propelledcapable of carrying out kinetic anti-personnel and/or anti-material impacts at distances greater than 4km and be able to complete your mission’no guide input after launch from the Group 2/3 platform from which it was launched’.
The entire system should not weigh more than 2.27kgof which approximately 0.91kg must correspond to the payload. It must reach at least 100km/h and have a precision of 5 meters or higher with respect to its objective. All while operating in non-GPS environments.
Have the ability to operate effectively in environments with strong electronic interference, something that has become common in the invasion of Ukraineis a key objective of the SCBDS. Using GPS signal blocking, Russia has reduced the effectiveness of guided systems such as ATACMS, HIMARS and Excalibur. On the Ukrainian side and according to British analysts, in 2023 around 10,000 drones per monthlargely due to electronic warfare.
The US Army hopes that the computer vision – in which AI interprets visual data – takes on much of the work. The idea is to combine a small inertial navigation unit (IMU) with ‘pixel lock’ -visual guidance technique in which a pattern of pixels in the camera image is identified and followed- and image recognition using AI so that the projectile can locate and attack targets even when it loses RF and GPS signals.
Electronic warfare has driven the development of drones guided by fiber optics, immune to interference, but offering shorter range. A truly ‘fire and forget’ missile with onboard guidance and small enough for a light UAV – such as the ScanEaglefrom around 18kg– would give special operations teams a powerful, autonomous option when air support is not available. a missile hellfireFor example, it weighs about 45kg and requires much larger drones, such as the MQ-9 Reaper of the Group 5.
The project will begin with a feasibility study in the Phase Iwill go to a prototype in the Phase II and will conclude with the commercialization in the Phase III. The SBIR notes that beyond military applications, advanced computer vision technology could also benefit commercial dronesespecially in parcel services. It could, for example, improve bridge inspections carried out by drones and even support the detection of hazardous substances.