Shield AI and Destinus have completed a flight test exercise demonstrating autonomous collaborative strike capabilities from an interceptor drone system, named Hornet.

Hornet is designed and manufactured by Destinus, a European defense technology company. It is a multi-role autonomous platform capable of counter-unmanned aircraft system, strike, reconnaissance, and data relay missions. It can also be integrated into the existing multi layered air-defense architecture for protecting forward bases and critical infrastructure from kamikaze drone swarms. Hornet can operate in GPS denied environments, has a minimum range of 75 km (46.6 miles) and can carry a payload of 1.5 kg (3.3 pounds).

According to the company the Hornet serves as an initial integration baseline for Shield AI’s Hivemind AI pilot across the Destinus product line. The company’s product line of unmanned aircraft systems and cruise missiles is based on a common architecture which facilitates cross platform integration. The integration also serves as a technical risk reduction measure.

Tim Moser, chief technology officer at Destinus, said: “Destinus platforms operate on our own flight control architecture, and Hivemind validated that we can integrate third-party autonomy without surrendering system design authority.”

What the exercise involved

The main aim of the full mission flight test is to facilitate the integration of Hivemind with Ruta cruise missile. The missile is intended for precision strike against hardened and high-value military targets. It will be fielded in two blocks with iterative capability enhancements in range and payload. The missile will be capable of flying low-altitude terrain-following flight trajectories and can operate in GPS denied and contested electronic warfare environments.

The flight test covered the complete mission sequence akin to the Ruta’s operational engagement. It included autonomy-assisted mission planning via ground control station, radio testing, autonomous terrain following, in-flight target updates, and autonomous terminal maneuver execution on operator command.

Previously, the company has also carried out tests demonstrating an inflight teaming of Hornet with Shield AI’s V-BAT UAS. In these tests, the V-BAT served as a communications relay between the ground station and multiple Destinus Hornet interceptor drones.

How Hivemind functions in a teaming role

Shield AI’s Hivemind AI pilot is a platform agnostic autonomy software. It enables platforms to sense, decide, and act independently, within operator-defined parameters under established command authority. It can dynamically reroutes mission plans, responds to unexpected conditions, avoids obstacles, and executes complex tasks.

In a teaming context, individual aircraft running Hivemind communicate peer-to-peer to distribute situational awareness and coordinate maneuvers to lessen reliance on a ground control station. The architecture is intended to preserve mission continuity even when datalinks are jammed or severed.

Destinus intends to transition these capabilities via the Ruta platform to Ukraine. This will enable the coordinated strike behaviors between V-BAT and multiple Ruta systems to be tested in a combat environment.