USAF WANTS TO TRANSFORM MISSILE RAILS INTO ARMED DRONES
DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT LINE OF AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY
THE DEFENSE ADVANCED Research Projects Agency — DARPA, the Pentagon’s fringe-science organization — has begun work on a small drone that extends the range of an AIM‑120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to- Air Missile (AMRAAM).
The so-called Flying Missile Rail could help US Air Force and Navy fighters match and even exceed the ever-increasing range of Russian- and Chinese-made missiles. The latest AIM-120 boasts a range of around 100 miles. China has been testing a very long-range air-combat missile that apparently can fly as far as 200 miles.
Perhaps just as importantly, program manager Jimmy Jones — an Air Force colonel — wants the robotic launcher to be cheap and easy to produce so that the military could quickly churn out hundreds of them just in time for some big shooting war.
DARPA released its request for proposals for the Flying Missile Rail in early September 2017. The agency is proposing to spend $375,000 over the next year or so developing and testing a prototype.
The Flying Missile Rail initiative is a response to the increasing cost and complexity of new warplanes. If the military can’t b…
