United States Has Chosen a System of Drops for Drones

The U.S. military has developed a drone drop system that has been tested at a training ground in Germany.

Recently, US soldiers tested a Skydio X10D drone with a new Audible dumping system at a training ground near the German city of Grafenwoehr.

The system was tested by dropping standard American M67 hand grenades. Representatives of the Bundeswehr also observed the tests.

This live-fire test of the drone is part of a broader modernization initiative and pilot program within the U.S. Army.

“While this is only an initial test of one capability, the lessons learned here will have a significant impact,” the military said.

Feedback on the first flight with live grenade drops from the new system will be immediately shared with scientific and technical planners in the United States.

The system’s developers have already taken into account the test results and are working on modifications to future versions of Audible that can be used for company-level combat missions.

The U.S. military plans to continue field testing and improving Audible in Germany this summer, using other drones as drop platforms.

The experiment used standard weapons that American soldiers usually carry in combat. The idea is that soldiers at the company or platoon level can use the system quickly.

The possibility of soldiers printing individual parts for combat drones on a 3D printer is also being considered.

Earlier, the US Department of Defense officially added the new Skydio X10D quadcopter to the list of authorized UAVs, which is likely to become the primary platform for dropping in the army.

Skydio X10D is equipped with modern sensors and advanced artificial intelligence technology. The drone has a powerful FLIR Boson radiometric thermal imaging camera, which the developers consider to be the best for small drones. The X10D is capable of recognizing a person at a distance of up to 730 meters and a vehicle at a distance of up to 1980 meters.