The U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin have provided details regarding the demonstration
of the Rapid Dragon air-launched 'palletized munitions' concept, which was carried out
recently.
Palletized munitions can be crudely referred to as “missiles in a box”.
Viewers may note that for the particular demonstration, surrogate weapons were delivered from the
cargo holds of a C-17A Globemaster III strategic transporter and an EC-130J psychological operations
(PSYOP) aircraft.
This is a new way to deploy standoff weapons and has significant implications.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how US Air Force plans to use air-lifters as weapons
trucks through the Rapid Dragon program?
Let's get started.
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The Rapid Dragon Program, previously designated the Palletized Munitions Program, is an accelerated
research campaign led by the Air Force Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation Office
(SDPE), part of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
The goal is to assess the operational utility of delivering large volumes of palletized
long-range strike weapons from military cargo aircraft like C-130.
The idea is to use the air lifters as a force multiplier.
Viewers may note that dedicated transporters have a massive payload capacity.
For example, a C-130 can carry up to 42,000 lb or 19,000 kg payload.
The program is aiming to use existing air-lifters of the US Air Force for carrying and also
deploying weapons.
The pallets allow cruise missiles to be loaded onto aircraft like the C-130s without modifications.
This way US Air Force can significantly increase the number of long-range weapons it can deploy.
Long-range standoff strike weapons are essential when taking on near-peer rivals like China
and Russia which have integrated air defense systems.
Standoff weapons like AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range cruise missile
or JASSM-ER enable the US Air Force to carry out attacks without having to enter the rival's
strike envelop.
This stealthy cruise missile can fly very long ranges and strike high-value targets
while keeping the launching aircraft clear of well-defended adversary airspace.
For example, JASSM-ER has a publicly stated range of at least 923 km or around 575 miles.
This is also a cheaper option than deploying dedicated bombers and the palletized system
has been designed to be scalable, so small as well as large air-lifters could employ it.
Air-lifters are equipped with rear ramps that can be opened in flight to airdrop cargo pallets.
Rapid Dragon program takes this further.
Lockheed Martin has stated that in the tests Rapid Dragon munition pallet was dropped from
a C-17 and an EC-130J, “at an operationally relevant altitude,”
Once released, and these were stabilized by parachutes, the munition pallet released surrogate
missiles “in quick succession”.
The missiles drop vertically, deploy their wings, ignite their motors and fly to their
targets.
The surrogate missiles were aerodynamically identical to the JASSM-ER.
While prima facia its looks simple, it is not.
For this to work correctly several steps need to be accomplished accurately, a high altitude
airdrop using the modular deployment box, jettison of multiple weapons from the palletized
weapon deployment system and clean separation from the deployment system.
An operational aircrew from the 492 Special Operations Training Group Detachment 2 and
a test aircrew from the 418th Flight Test Squadron conducted the airdrops.
The test was carried out in an operationally relevant environment, demonstrating the feasibility
of a palletized delivery of long-range strike weapons.
Scott Callaway, Lockheed Martin Advanced Strike Programs director, of the tests at White Sands,
“These Rapid Dragon deployments represent the first end-to-end demonstration of a palletized
strike mission, from rolling missile pallets onto an aircraft to in-flight missile release.
Dr. Dean Evans, the Rapid Dragon Program Manager at the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL)
Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation Office (SDPE), said in a statement,
"This enhanced capability can provide combatant commanders additional targeting flexibility
and control in the prosecution of the high-end fight.
Additionally, the retargeting methodology used is transferrable to other strike platforms,
potentially making all JASSM-capable strike assets more lethal in an increasingly complicated
and dynamic near-peer conflict."
Importantly Lockheed Martin stated that the personnel on the ground used satellite communication
data links to transmit targeting data to the Rapid Dragon system, demonstrating the ability
to retarget the missiles while the launch aircraft is airborne.
The aircraft-agnostic Battle Management System onboard the aircraft received new targeting
data and uploaded it to a JASSM-ER emulator.
As per the plan, Rapid Dragon Program will conduct a live-fire test with a production
JASSM-ER from a cargo aircraft by the end of 2021.
That test data will be used to optimize the system.
This could see work on ways to reduce load -reload times, overall ease of operation to
name a few.
As per reports, a follow-on program will look at expanding the Rapid Dragon integration
to include additional weapon systems.
These new capabilities can provide American military commanders additional flexibility
when it comes to hitting a large number of targets.
Out of the box, thinking is critical to meet the challenges posed by rivals and the Rapid
Dragon program showcases that the US military is on the right track.