Gremlins mid-air retrieval testing extended to 2021 after failed demo

By Sara Sirota / December 11, 2020 at 11:48 AM
Three X-61A Gremlins drones failed to enter the proper position for mid-flight recovery during the program’s latest test, again delaying the long-awaited first demonstration of the signature airborne retrieval system to 2021, according to a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency press release Thursday. Testers made nine attempts beginning Oct. 28 to connect the Dynetics-built attritable vehicles with the “docking bullet” extended from a C-130 in the airspace above Dugway Proving Ground, UT. Although they “were just inches” away, the X-61As...

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