Navy program developing tube-launched autonomous swarming UAVs that self-organize using shared AI processing. Designed for saturation attacks and distributed ISR.
LOCUST's tube-launch deployment from surface ships, submarines, and aircraft eliminates the need for dedicated UAV launch infrastructure, dramatically increasing the operational flexibility of the swarm. The system's inter-drone communication network uses low-power encrypted mesh radio to share sensor data and coordinate behavior without relying on ground control station links that could be jammed or severed. Navy tests demonstrated that LOCUST swarms could cooperatively localize radio emitters by triangulation, demonstrating a distributed SIGINT collection capability that is difficult to defeat by conventional electronic warfare.
Swarm flight tests with 30+ drones 2015–2019; technology transferred to multiple programs
L3Harris Technologies (LHX) has been a primary LOCUST contractor. AeroVironment (AVAV) produces swarming variants of its Switchblade system that draw on LOCUST program lessons.