California based Dzyne Technologies has unveiled an expendable Group 1 category attack drone named Blitz. This one way attack drone is aimed at delivering affordable mass capabilities and is engineered for adaptability, and autonomous operations.
The US Department of War (DoW) classifies Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into five groups based on their size, range, and speed. Dual use technologies and commercial off the shelf components has accelerated the proliferation of Groups 1-3 drones. Recent conflicts has also demonstrated the difficulty in detecting and tracking Groups 1-3 drones. As their radar cross section (RCS) likely lies in the range of 0.01-0.1 m2 (in between the RCS of a human and a bird).
Parallelly the advancements in machine learning is contributing in improving the onboard autonomy of the drone swarms. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides a 10 point scale for classification of the onboard autonomy of drones. The scale measures the autonomy based on factors like human independence, environmental complexity and mission complexity.
Reflecting on these lessons, Blitz is engineered to address the defense community’s urgent need to field low cost, mass-producible expendable platforms with a degree of on-board intelligence.
Blitz is powered by a battery based electric propulsion system. It has an approximate range of 80–150 km, a speed of 75-139 km/hr, a gross weight of 6.8 kg and a payload capacity of 2.2 kg. Electric propulsion also enables Blitz to have a low acoustic as well as infra-red signature, delaying detection.
It can be launched by hand, by rail launchers or from an ISO container named BlitzBox. The ISO container can carry around 12 Blitz drones, enabling swarm operations.
Blitz is a modular platform which incorporates swappable modules located in its nose, backpack payload bay, wingtips and tail. It also has a swappable battery.
The platform can incorporate a range of payloads (including third party modules) enabling mission versatility across Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR), electronic warfare, decoy and strike roles.
Blitz can be packed into a volume of 755 × 947 × 175 mm, which reduces transport volume while enabling rapid field deployment. Its lightweight, collapsible structure allows operators to assemble the system in under two minutes and hand and rail launch multiple units with minimal logistical overhead.
Identifying the need to strengthen the U.S. drone manufacturing base and rapidly arming combat units with low-cost attack drones, a Drone Dominance Initiative has been established by US DoW.
The FY 2027 US DoW budget continues the funding of the drone dominance initiative and includes $39.2 billion for a multi-year investment in autonomous systems procurement and domestic production capacity.
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