U.S. defence technology company Palladyne AI is developing AI-based swarm control technology that would allow a single soldier to operate up to 200 drones simultaneously. The key is to have unmanned aircraft cooperate autonomously to match battlefield conditions, rather than being piloted individually by a human.

On Nov. 10, Topwar reported that Palladyne AI is pursuing the development of autonomous control technology to reduce the manpower needed for large-scale drone operations and improve mission efficiency.

The core technology is its autonomous swarm operations software, SwarmOS. When an operator designates a mission objective such as reconnaissance or surveillance, multiple drones analyse the surrounding environment and divide roles. Even if unexpected situations arise, the drones do not just follow preset routes and can adjust their response within the mission scope.

Palladyne AI CEO Benjamin G. Wolff (벤 울프) claimed in a recent interview, "We have the technological foundation for a single soldier to operate 200 different drones." Still, a swarm operations test deploying 200 drones simultaneously has not been completed.

The company tested the technology in U.S. Army training this year. In the 4th Infantry Division's "Ivy Mass" training in May, a single soldier demonstrated the ability to control multiple drones from different manufacturers.

In "Project Convergence Capstone 6" held in the summer, it carried out a joint mission by linking a reconnaissance drone with its Gremlin-X unmanned aircraft. Palladyne AI said at the time, "It received the top rating in all 9 performance categories evaluated by the U.S. Army."

Cooperation with the U.S. Air Force is also under way. Palladyne AI signed a HANGTIME contract worth $4.2 million in July with the Air Force Research Laboratory. The project develops technology to link and integrate information from satellites and air and ground unmanned systems.

Separately, the U.S. Air Force provided an additional $2.9 million to a contract to develop Palladyne IQ, a robotic autonomous control technology. This brought the total contract value for the related project to more than $10.6 million.

Palladyne AI originated from Sarcos Robotics, a company that previously developed robotic exoskeletons for the U.S. military. It is now expanding swarm autonomous operations technology centred on AI software.

Still, the real-world performance of the company's claimed ability to operate 200 drones simultaneously needs further verification. In particular, autonomous flight, coordination and authority to approve attacks are separate, and the company explained it maintains a system in which humans are involved in decisions to use weapons.