The US military is planning to test the "air carrier aircraft" concept that will also release drones from transport aircraft in 2019

Carrying many unmanned aerial vehicles (drone) on a large transport machine, carry it to the destination, discharge the drones as they fly and carry out their duties, and after completion the drone will return to the transport machine and return to the base itself It is clear that the concept to be called "air carrier aircraft carrier" and "flying aircraft carrier" will also test for realization in 2019.

Progress Toward an Ability to Recover Unmanned Aerial Vehicles on the Fly
https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2017-03-15

DARPA hopes to swarm drones out of C-130s in 2019 test
https://www.navytimes.com/newsletters/daily-news-roundup/2017/12/18/darpa-hopes-to-swarm-drones-out-of-c-130s-in-2019-test/

This plan named "gremlin" is an agency of the US Department of Defense and develops the latest military technologyDARPA(National Defense Advanced Research Projects Bureau) are advancing. Also called a best seller of transport machinesC-130 transport machineWe aim to release multiple drone mounted in the air and store it in the original C - 130 as it is after returning the duty and return it.General Atomics Aeronautical SystemsWhenDyneticsIt is said that flight tests using testing machines will be carried out in 2019.

The image created based on the concept is like this. Illustration It shows the drone emitted from the C - 130 transport machine drawn on the upper right is unmanned and flying. You can see that the wings of the drone are foldable for storage inside the aircraft.


On the aft of the C - 130 aircraft, things like hoses for air refueling are also drawn.


At the bottom left of the screen is also a picture of the C - 130 transport machine flying over and the drone behind it.


In DARPA, with regard to the aim of this plan, in the release, "to realize flexible operational execution capability with less cost than" all in one type platform "which cost a lot as it is now I am doing. When it is actually put into operation, the drone is transported to the duty site in a state of being carried on the C - 130 transport aircraft, it is discharged in the air and takes a duty. Drone's body needs to be equipped with devices such as cameras and radar for intelligence, equipment such as radio interception, jamming (communication disturbance), bombs and other firearms according to the application, and it is required to be able to load firearms in the standby state for about 1 hour You are also required to be able to stand by at or near the area where you operate.

After carrying out the mission, the C-130 transport aircraft that "ship" himself to the C-130 transport aircraft and full of drone returns to the base. After returning, maintenance personnel who were waiting on the ground will repair and repair the aircraft, supplements of equipment etc. will be carried out, and a system will be organized that can re-fire within 24 hours. Cruise distance assumed for Drone is as short as 300 nautical miles (about 560 km), loading capacity of equipment etc. is 60 pounds (about 27 kg) and it is also a smaller scale. Instead, by placing a large number of drones in the airspace, it is expected to be able to carry out more detailed strategies than before. In addition, it seems that the form that drone fits into the C - 130 transport machine is considered to be in the form of entering into the fuselage and the method to be worn on the wing part in some way.

DARPA assumes that the cost per drone is $ 500,000 (about 56 million yen). According to the standards of modern military aircraft, which may cost tens of billions of yen per machine, this means that it is an inexpensive low cost machine and allows about 20 repetitions of operation It is considered to be possible to reduce the cost and protect soldier's lives.