Key Air Force Unit buys the Army’s new heavy-duty quadcopter drone

The C100 heavy-duty quadcopter drone is making the transition from the Army to the Air Force, specifically the latter service.^rd Air Ground Operations Wing issued a contract for C100s on Wednesday, according to a statement from Alabama-based manufacturer Performance Drone Works (PDW).

Larger multicopter UAVs such as the Vampyr, Kazhan and R18, operated by Ukraine, have played a major role in the fight against invading Russian forces since 2022. earning them the nickname ‘Baba Yagas’ after the terrifying witch in Slavic folklore. Despite the ubiquitous smaller and cheaper Group 1 FPV drones, the ‘heavy drones’ bring with them greater range, endurance and payload.

However, C100 quadcopters in this weight class have only recently begun deliveries to US Army combat units under the service’s Medium Range Reconnaissance program, seeking large but portable vertical lift drones to support infantry companies in the field through reconnaissance, targeting, gravity bombing, battlefield delivery and relaying capabilities communication.

The new order shows that at least one major Air Force unit is also interested in the military’s heavy-duty quadcopters, although the exact cost and size of the purchase have not been made public.

PDW said it could not comment on the specific missions the 93rd AGOW had in mind for C100s. In a press release, CEO Ryan Gury touted the C100’s modular payload capabilities and its scalability would help fill a gap for “rapidly deployable, multi-mission air platforms.” He noted in an email: “C100 can support ISR, kinetic effect, communications relay, electronic warfare and other mission sets.”

So why is this particular Air Force unit interested in this particular drone?

Small drones help big fighter planes

The Air Force’s two Air Ground Operation Wings (AGOWs) – the 93^rd at Moody Airbase in Georgia, USA, and the 435^e headquartered at Ramstein Air Base in Germany – have several sub-units specialized in coordinating air support and meteorological intelligence for Army combat units, or quickly establishing, operating and defending new air bases in the field.

While heavy-duty quadcopters could support all of these missions in different ways, the 93 seems very plausible^rd AGOW could experiment with deploying C100s in Tactical Air Control Parties – teams that nestle into Army combat formations to coordinate Air Force support. At the 93^rdthese teams are handled by the 3^rd and 18^e Close air support operations groups.

Notably, C100s can mount a stabilized Leonardo STAG5 gimbal with a laser designator that can illuminate a target more than 2.0 km away for attack by laser-guided weapons. This capability was recently demonstrated during an exercise with an Air Force F-35A stealth fighter.

During the test (seen below), the C100 shot three targets between 0.62, 1 and 1.24 miles away, which were then struck by four inert GBU-12 Paveway laser-guided bombs released by the F-35. The C100 itself remained airborne for 35 minutes during the test while operating nearly 2 miles (3.2 km) away from the operators.

While the concept of the trial allowed a low-level Army drone to become a target for a powerful Air Force aircraft, it perhaps stimulated (or reflected) the Air Force’s interest in acquiring an internal capability as well.

Laser guidance is one of the least expensive methods of turning dumb weapons into smart weapons – and remains effective against moving vehicles and immune to conventional jamming, unlike GPS-guided weapons. But positioning a laser to permanently ‘paint’ a ground target can be tricky, as this requires maintaining a direct line of sight to the target – meaning the designator is also exposed to detection and attack!

The line of sight requirement also means that targets hidden behind hills, trees, or buildings cannot be painted by ground markers, at least not without dangerously infiltrating enemy positions. And while well-equipped aircraft can shoot targets from above, under certain circumstances this can also expose aircraft to enemy fire.

C100s could therefore provide ground-based TACPs with a portable system capable of lasering targets some depth beyond the front line and/or hidden behind terrain –without expose operators. Of course, the drone’s standard electro-optical/thermal sensor domes can also be useful for targeted reconnaissance.

C100s can carry additional payloads that may be of interest to TACPs, including electronic warfare equipment and radio direction finders that can undermine enemy transmitters (radio frequency communications systems, radars, jammers, etc.) or enable geolocation of potential targets. And with communications relay equipment, it could help establish or maintain connections between aircraft and ground forces that might otherwise be disrupted; or extend the control link range of smaller drones.

The curious origins of the C100

CEO Gury used to be a founder of the Drone Racing League and designer of his fast RacerX drones before founding PDW in 2018.

But for PDW’s flagship C100 drone, he wanted to optimize endurance. In 2022, a C100 set a world record for the longest flight by a battery-powered drone: 2 hours and 14 minutes and change. In its operational configuration, the 21-pound quadcopter has an endurance of 74 minutes, can carry a 10-pound payload and, when pressed, can run at a speed of 40 miles per hour. This summer, PDW opened a new factory in Huntsville, which has increased maximum production capacity to 350 C100s per month.

In an interview earlier this summer, Gury said his own experiences, combined with consultation with veterans on the PDW board, led him to design the C100 for functionality in communications-deprived environments and adverse climatic conditions, while still remaining portable enough to fit in an individual soldier’s backpack.

The selection of the C100 for the Army’s Medium Range Reconnaissance competition resulted in three contracts funded by the service’s Transformation-in-Contact initiative, the last of which netted $20.9 million in September. It included both C100s and ‘Multi-Mission Payloads’ that enabled longer-range operations in GPS-less environments, and signal intelligence and electronic warfare capabilities.

However, the C100 competes with Anduril’s GhostX single-rotor helicopter drone that is also being acquired for Tranche 1 of the MRR program. Released specs suggest the Ghost-X has similar endurance, but more than twice the range and weighs more than twice as much as a C100 at 55 pounds.

In an earlier interview, Gury argued that the fighting in Ukraine has proven the usefulness of heavy multicopter drones, which he says are superior for precision maneuvering. More broadly, he thinks the conflict has demonstrated the need for more portable, cheaper and less complex drones that can be built and deployed quickly, and that can be continuously adapted to a changing battlefield through modular architecture.

In an email last October, Gury also emphasized the importance of C100 payloads that “[radio frequency] spectrum awareness, communications relays and vision-based navigation for survivability in contested environments.”

Given the dramatic differences between the C100 and GhostX, the Army’s final selection for MRR could reveal a lot about how the service weighs their competitive strengths.

Small drones for the big drone Air Force?

The 93^rd AGOW’s contract also reflects another trend: The same Air Force that pioneered operations of large, multimillion-dollar aircraft-style drones is now being forced (by opportunity, but also by pressure from above) to consider how it could use much smaller and cheaper drones to achieve cost efficiencies.

New policy announced in July require all the services will set up programs to investigate ways to deploy small drones, or SUAS. The policy also redesignates the two smallest drone categories (Groups 1 and 2) as ‘consumables’ such as ammunition, making it easier for individual units and junior officers to purchase them, while reducing the training requirements and safety standards for their use.

Still, small drones are not an easy fit for the Air Force because the service’s warplanes typically fly missions that cover hundreds or thousands of miles, not the single- or double-digit ranges of most Group 1 and 2 drones. Beyond the use cases for TACPs described above, the service is considering other ways to use SUAS.

• The Air Force has conducted airborne tests of cargo planes and refuelers to release SUAS in mid-flight for various missions ranging from decoys to reconnaissance and one-way attacks.
• The Air Force Security Forces Center has acquired Teal 2 quadcopters for use in a basic security role
• So is the service apparently with the help of Coyote drones to intercept enemy drones more cost-efficiently
• Small UASs can also provide a cost- and time-efficient method of inspecting large aircraft and base facilities for damage; or assist in collecting meteorological data.

In time we can see if the 93^rdThe company’s order heralds a larger trend of Group 1 and 2 drones being integrated into Air Force units with specific operational needs — perhaps including more types already vetted by other services.