The U.S. Air Force has partnered with SOFWERX to conduct a “rumble-style” battle experiment on unmanned aerial vehicles to collect information for potential drone operations, National Defense reported Thursday.Heather Wilson, secretary of the Air Force, said the service branch will hold the ThunderDrone rapid prototyping event at a rented warehouse in Tampa, Florida, to evaluate the forms, platforms, effects and data science needed for small UAV operations.
Wilson pointed to the experiment as an example of the branch’s efforts to rapidly innovate and explore acquisition strategies in response to the modernization of adversaries.
Air Force leaders have urged experienced multi-rotor and fixed-wing aircraft pilots to help the ThunderDrone Squadron build, test and fly prototype and proof of concept vehicles.
SOFWERX also plans to conduct ThunderDrone-related events between September and November, including a technology exposition and a prototype rodeo.
