Army Drone Test Evolves from 'Bee Swarms' to 'Wolf Packs'

The "wolf pack" drone swarm technique deployed during the test simulated a stimulate, hunt, kill, and assess tactic.

Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 02:32 PM ET

Verified

The move to the "wolf pack" swarms represents an evolution of a previous experiment using a "bee swarm" approach of launching a mass of drones with a collective task. [Courtesy: U.S. Army]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Army conducted its largest drone swarming experiment as part of the EDGE22 exercise, testing advanced unmanned aerial systems in the Great Salt Lake Desert.
The experiment evolved from a "bee swarm" approach to a new "wolf pack" strategy, organizing drones into distinct groups with specialized missions.
The "wolf pack" tactic involves drones performing coordinated tasks such as reconnaissance, detecting and identifying enemy positions, and assessing the battlefield.
The exercise utilized Air Launched Effects (ALE) systems, including ALTIUS 600 and Coyote drones, to extend reach and achieve overmatch against adversaries.

See a mistake? Contact us.

A recent U.S. Army drone swarming experiment conducted in the Great Salt Lake Desert organized drones into four “wolf packs,” each with a distinctive mission in what was the largest swarm test ever conducted by the service.

The drone experiment took place at Dugway Proving Ground near Salt Lake City, Utah, as part of the U.S. Army’s 2022 Experimental Demonstration Gateway Exercise (EDGE22), an annual convening of Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team and nearly 20 units and organizations from across the U.S. Army, industry partners, and international Allies come together to assess new tactics, technologies and interconnecting architectures.