As the US military grapples with the challenge of moving, communicating, and resupplying forces without giving away their positions through electronic emissions, glider drones are emerging as a potential option, a Special Operations Command Europe logistics official told Business Insider this week at the annual SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
During Trojan Footprint, a major international special operations exercise that was held this month in Romania and Macedonia, Romanian aircraft carrying a handful of US troops released two Grasshopper glider drones loaded with construction materials, food, and medical supplies in support of American Green Berets on the ground.
When roads, rivers, or railways aren’t an option for delivering supplies to US troops in combat zones, or when troops are deployed in areas where aircraft can’t land, a glider is a possible alternative. Able to land within 10 meters of its intended target area, it deploys a parachute just before making a controlled nose-first impact.
The Grasshopper drone manufactured by Dzyne requires only limited electronic activity; the official said that it can remain below detection thresholds in the electromagnetic spectrum, a growing concern for the US military.
Capt. Christopher Booker/US Army
Electronic equipment such as radios and communications systems emits signals able to be detected within the spectrum, and those emissions can reveal a military unit’s location to enemy sensors and expose troops to harm.
Dzyne describes the Grasshopper as an expendable aerial resupply system purpose-built for contested and denied environments. According to the company, its glider and long-range variants can carry up to 500 pounds of cargo.
The higher the drones are released, the farther they can fly, the official said, comparing the platform to a paper airplane. The drones can stay airborne for hours and be released from as high as 25,000 feet, each pre-programmed to reach a different team on the ground.
The effort reflects broader concerns inside the US military that modern troops are increasingly vulnerable to detection through their radios, phones, drones, and command systems, forcing units to shrink command posts, quiet radio chatter, and eliminate cell phone use in training and in the field. Troops are looking for ways to reduce thermal emissions as well.
These glider drones may address these concerns, as well as others about resupply operations in contested air. During World War II, glider aircraft were used to silently insert troops behind enemy lines, as well as drop cargo into an area of operations.
Digital stealth is now an absolute requirement for survival on modern battlefields demanding that troops and equipment be able to survive in a “hyper-contested digital environment without any kind of signature,” the logistics official said.
It is unclear how well platforms such as these glider drones will perform at scale or in challenging weather conditions.
Much of the US military is trying to shed the enormous dependence on digital systems it came to rely on during the 20-year Global War on Terror, a dramatic shift for the Pentagon. That includes renewed reliance on traditional tools like paper maps and old-school compasses, the official explained.
“Because of that electromagnetic environment, there is no safe rear area,” they said.
