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Swarms of Networked Weapons Can Adjust Their Response to the Enemy in Real Time

The Air Force Golden Horde Vanguard program was recently completed with excellent results, proving that networked collaborative weapons are revolutionizing warfare capabilities.
An F-16 fighter is carrying CSDBs during the second flight test, in February 1 photo
Photo: Air Force Research Laboratory
Standard, pre-programmed weapons can only go so far during combat, because they can’t adapt their response if case of an unexpected move from the enemy. But networked, collaborative and autonomous (NCA) weapons can adjust their reaction in real time. This is why the Air Force launched the Golden Horde initiative, which became a Vanguard program in 2019, in order to demonstrate how effective networked weapons are, during missions.

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) announced that the final test demonstrations of Collaborative Small Diameter Bombs (CSDBs), within the Golden Horde program, were carried out at the beginning of this week, at the White Sands Missile Range, in New Mexico.

During the test, 2 F-16s released their weapons at the same time, one aircraft having 4 bombs, and the other one 2, which were then able to establish communication with one another.

This final test had 3 main objectives.

The first one was related to the radio network’s capability. During previous flight tests, 2 and then 4 weapons in flight were used, in order to establish communication. For this final test, 6 weapons were released simultaneously, proving that the radio network can successfully scale up when needed.

The second objective was to test NCA weapons’ ability to link to the Joint All-Domain Command and Control network. While the weapons were in-flight, the ground station sent them a “Target Update”, meaning that they had to engage a different target, which was high priority. This is an important aspect of the Golden Horde, where a “swarm” (group) of weapons can be redirected from a remote control center.

The final objective was related to the attack phase. If previous tests showed that 2 weapons can be synchronized on 2 targets, this last test demonstrated that 2 weapons can perform a synchronized time on target (STOT) attack, on a single target.

With this test, AFRL completed the Golden Horde CSDB demonstrations and is now getting ready for the next phase of the program, called the Colosseum, where surrogate drones will also be integrated in the NCA weapon technologies tests.
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About the author: Otilia Drăgan
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Otilia believes that if it’s eco, green, or groundbreaking, people should know about it (especially if it's got wheels or wings). Working in online media for over five years, she's gained a deeper perspective on how people everywhere can inspire each other.
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