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Federal Ammunition, part of The Kinetic Group, a member of CSG Group; Mossberg; and Palladyne AI Corp., announced the joint development of SwarmShot™, a modular autonomous airborne counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) designed to transform compatible drones into reusable air-to-air interceptors operating together as a collaborative kinetic defensive swarm.
SwarmShot will combine Federal’s specialized counter-UAS shotshell ammunition, a lightweight Mossberg weapon module purpose-engineered for airborne operation, and Palladyne AI’s IntelliSwarm™ autonomy system, which combines BRAIN avionics with SwarmOS™ collaborative autonomy software.
The system will initially be developed as a modular mission add-on for Gremlin-X™, Palladyne AI’s Group 1 quadcopter mini-bomber. The modular architecture is intended to allow the same aircraft to be configured for either its existing mini-bomber precision-strike mission or an autonomous counter-UAS mission. Following qualification on Gremlin-X, the companies plan to offer SwarmShot to other manufacturers as an integration kit for compatible unmanned aircraft.
SwarmShot will be engineered as one integrated system. Federal will lead ammunition design and terminal-effect optimization, leveraging experience from its recent U.S. Army counter-UAS ammunition contract. Mossberg will lead development of the lightweight airborne weapon module, including remote operation, recoil management, reliability, and safety. Palladyne AI will lead UAS integration, fire control, terminal-intercept autonomy, and coordination among multiple interceptors.
A Defensive Application of True Autonomous Swarming
SwarmShot is a defensive application of Palladyne AI’s predictive autonomy collaborative swarming capability, recently deployed with the U.S. Army at Project Convergence Capstone 6 (PC-C6) and other recent Army exercises.
During those exercises, Palladyne AI’s SwarmOS enabled heterogeneous unmanned aircraft from multiple manufacturers to share information, allocate responsibilities, and adapt their actions collectively in real time. The aircraft operated collaboratively at the edge while soldiers retained authority over weapons employment.
SwarmShot will apply that same capability to air defense. IntelliSwarm is designed to receive validated threat tracks from existing sensors or command systems to autonomously allocate targets among available interceptors, calculate intercept paths, maneuver each aircraft into an effective engagement position, and redirect the swarm as targets move or new threats appear.
“SwarmShot is a defensive application of the true autonomous swarming capability we demonstrated with the Army at PC-C6 and other exercises,” said Ben Wolff, President and CEO of Palladyne AI. “One SwarmShot-equipped aircraft is a reusable interceptor. Multiple aircraft operating through IntelliSwarm become a coordinated kinetic swarm. Gremlin-X gives us the first complete system, and the multi-OEM kit gives the partnership a path to scale.”
Three Proven Technologies, Engineered for a New Mission
Federal will bring advanced ammunition engineering and recent Army counter-UAS experience to a new airborne engagement environment.
“Federal has always engineered ammunition around the mission,” said Jason Vanderbrink, Chairman and CEO of The Kinetic Group. “Our recent counter-UAS work for the U.S. Army provides a strong technical foundation for SwarmShot. Working with Mossberg and Palladyne AI allows us to optimize the ammunition, weapon, and engagement geometry together from the outset.”
Mossberg will apply more than a century of firearms innovation to the development of a weapon system specifically designed for autonomous airborne operation.
“This is not simply an existing shotgun mounted to a drone,” said Doug Bell, President and COO of Mossberg. “Mossberg will engineer a lightweight airborne weapon module around the unique requirements of recoil, remote actuation, reliability, and safety. SwarmShot extends trusted firearms engineering into an entirely new defense application.”
Palladyne AI will provide the aircraft, avionics and autonomous intelligence that give the Federal and Mossberg effector reach, positioning and the ability to operate collaboratively.
“Federal provides the terminal effect. Mossberg provides the weapon. Palladyne AI provides the reach, intelligence and teammates,” Wolff said. “The breakthrough comes from unified engineering of all three.”
A Kinetic Swarm Built to Defeat the Drone Swarm
Small, inexpensive drones can impose an unfavorable cost exchange on conventional missile-based defenses. SwarmShot is being designed as a reusable close-in kinetic layer that complements existing counter-UAS sensors, command systems and higher-end effectors.
Instead of waiting for a hostile drone to enter the limited range of a ground-based weapon, SwarmShot carries the weapon and ammunition toward the threat. The aircraft establishes the engagement geometry, the Mossberg module delivers the round and Federal’s specialized ammunition provides the terminal effect.
Potential applications include the defense of deployed forces, airfields, command posts, logistics facilities, ships, mobile formations and other critical military infrastructure.
The initial development program is expected to include ammunition and terminal-effect testing, airborne weapon integration, recoil and aircraft-stability testing, live-fire flight testing, weapons-safety controls, autonomous multi-interceptor coordination and integration with third-party sensors and command systems.
Following qualification on Gremlin-X, the planned SwarmShot kit is expected to include Federal counter-UAS ammunition, the Mossberg airborne weapon module, Palladyne AI IntelliSwarm hardware and software, fire-control electronics, modular aircraft interfaces and platform-specific integration support.
The multi-OEM architecture is intended to expand the opportunity beyond complete Gremlin-X systems to include ammunition, weapon modules, avionics, autonomy software, integration and support across a broader installed base of compatible aircraft.
