US Military Tests Interoperable Drone Fleets
The U.S. Air Force successfully tested "interoperable autonomy" between competing drone platforms from General Atomics and Anduril. The test used a common control architecture, a key step toward enabling mixed-vendor drone swarms. In a related development, the U.S. Marine Corps' ROGUE-Fires ground vehicle has been made fully driverless using technology from autonomous trucking company Kodiak.
- The drone interoperability test is a key part of the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, which aims to pair at least 1,000 autonomous drones with crewed fighters like the F-35 and the next-generation fighter. The CCA initiative is a component of the larger Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, a "system-of-systems" approach to future air superiority. - The General Atomics platform is the YFQ-42A, developed from the XQ-67A prototype. This design uses a modular "genus" approach, where a common chassis can be adapted for different missions, such as serving as a flying sensor station or a weapons platform. The Anduril platform in the competition is designated the YFQ-44A. - The common control system used in the test is the Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA). This open architecture is designed to prevent vendor lock-in, allowing the Air Force to use a competitive ecosystem of AI and autonomy software from various developers on any compliant drone. - Anduril's broader portfolio includes the Roadrunner, a reusable, twin-jet powered VTOL autonomous vehicle. Its Roadrunner-M variant is a high-explosive interceptor designed to counter aerial threats at a fraction of the cost of traditional air defense missiles, and it can be recovered and refueled if not used. - The Marine's ROGUE-Fires vehicle is an unmanned version of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) that functions as a mobile launcher for the Naval Strike Missile (NSM). This capability is central to the Marine Corps' Force Design 2030 initiative, enabling land-based anti-ship operations in coastal areas. - Kodiak's "Kodiak Driver" AI is a dual-use technology, adapted from its primary application in commercial autonomous long-haul trucking. The company previously secured a contract worth up to $50 million to develop autonomous vehicles for the U.S. Army's Robotic Combat Vehicle program. - Kodiak's system for military use is designed for rugged, off-road environments and areas with degraded GPS. It uses modular, swappable "DefensePods" for its sensors, allowing for quick field repairs without specialized training. - The broader military push for autonomous systems includes the Air Force's VENOM program, which modifies F-16s into testbeds for autonomy software, and the Army's Remote Technology Kernel (RTK), a government-owned autonomy software stack also used on the ROGUE-Fires vehicle.
