DARPA's Plan to Overwhelm Enemies With Swarming Drones

A first wave of reconnaissance would identify enemies and jam radar signals. (Credit: DARPA) To rule the skies above future combat zones, the United States military is developing swarms of interconnected drones and missiles. The military’s research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA), is developing what it’s calling a “system-of-systems,” or, more simply, technology that allows drones to deploy hordes of other drones that perform a series of functions to, in DARPA’s words, “impose asymmetric costs on adversaries.” In other words, destroy the target in unison.