U.S. Combatant Commands Look To Replicator For New Acquisition Path

Service person operating Switchblade

Small drones and one-way attack munitions, such as the Switchblade (pictured), are the focus of a new effort to empower combatant commands to develop and field their own capabilities.

Credit: U.S. Department of Defense
A previously unknown, 3D-printed drone named Kestrel costs $2,500 to make and has been flying over hot spots in the Middle East for months, using a 3-kg (6.6-lb.), high-definition camera for aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Nothing about the Kestrel’s performance is...

U.S. Combatant Commands Look To Replicator For New Acquisition Path is part of our Aviation Week & Space Technology - Inside MRO and AWIN subscriptions.

Subscribe now to read this content, plus receive full coverage of what's next in technology from the experts trusted by the commercial aircraft MRO community.

Already a subscriber to AWST or an AWIN customer? Log in with your existing email and password.