Palladyne AI has announced the successful performance of its SwarmOS platform and Gremlin-X unmanned reusable mini-bomber during Project Convergence Capstone 6 (PC-C6), the U.S. Army’s division-scale force-on-force modernization event.
PC-C6 marked the second time in less than three months that SwarmOS has demonstrated multi-drone, multi-vendor autonomous operations in demanding and operationally realistic conditions. Following its earlier performance at Ivy Mass, the 4th Infantry Division’s risk-reduction rehearsal, SwarmOS was tested in a larger and more complex environment involving the U.S. Army, the broader U.S. Joint Force and military forces from allied countries.
During both Ivy Mass and PC-C6, SwarmOS integrated with Anduril’s Lattice platform, which serves as an integration layer supporting the Army’s emerging Next Generation Command and Control architecture. SwarmOS enabled heterogeneous Group 1 and Group 2 unmanned aircraft from multiple manufacturers to operate together as a coordinated system. At PC-C6, SwarmOS also achieved Impact Level 5 (IL5) certification, meeting Department of War cloud security requirements for higher-sensitivity unclassified mission data and mission-critical command-and-control workflows.
During PC-C6 mission scenarios, SwarmOS enabled unmanned aircraft to collaboratively detect, identify and engage targets while adapting to changing battlefield conditions in real time. The platform coordinated the sensor-to-effects mission chain, with autonomous intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft searching for and identifying targets of interest before sharing targeting information through the Army’s command-and-control environment.
With a soldier retaining decision authority, SwarmOS then tasked Gremlin-X, Palladyne AI’s low-cost mini-bomber, to engage the designated target. Following the engagement, the platform coordinated post-strike battle damage assessment.
“Ivy Mass was the rehearsal, and PC-C6 was the main event,” said Doug Dynes, President of Palladyne Aerospace & Defense. He said SwarmOS performed in both environments, enabling aircraft from multiple manufacturers to find targets, share information, respond to changing battlefield conditions and coordinate precision effects while a soldier retained authority over the decision to engage.
The progression from Ivy Mass to PC-C6 represents another stage in Palladyne AI’s work with the U.S. Army. At each successive event, SwarmOS has been required to integrate with additional platforms, coordinate more complex mission workflows and operate in increasingly demanding environments.
At Ivy Mass, SwarmOS enabled drones from multiple manufacturers to operate under the supervision of a single soldier who was trained to use the system in less than 30 minutes. At PC-C6, Palladyne AI repeated and expanded that performance within the Army’s emerging command-and-control architecture and before a broader joint and multinational audience.
“What differentiates SwarmOS is that it does more than automate individual aircraft or execute preplanned routes,” said Dr. Denis Garagic, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Palladyne AI. He said the system enables heterogeneous unmanned platforms to perceive, collaborate and adapt their actions in real time as missions and battlefield conditions change.
PC-C6 is the largest Project Convergence experiment conducted to date. The event brings together the U.S. Army, other elements of the Joint Force and allied military partners to evaluate how emerging technologies can be integrated into operational formations and employed during large-scale combat operations.
Ben Wolff, President and Chief Executive Officer of Palladyne AI, said the significance of PC-C6 extends beyond the company’s participation in another exercise. He noted that the Army has placed SwarmOS through an increasingly demanding progression of operational tests, with the platform demonstrating its capabilities at each stage.
Wolff added that SwarmOS has been developed to transform unmanned systems from different manufacturers into an intelligent and collaborative force capable of responding to changing battlefield conditions in real time, and said the recent demonstrations have shown the system performing this role in operational environments.
