U.S. military says it conducted the first kinetic drone swarm on American soil during a recent exercise

During a demonstration earlier this month, the U.S. military conducted the first kinetic drone swarm on American soil, officials said, a notable milestone in the Pentagon’s effort to experiment with unmanned systems that communicate across a common operating network to accomplish various tasks.

A small group of troops gathered at Camp Blanding, Florida, on Jan. 8 where they launched four first-person view drones — some of which were packed with plastic explosives — into the air and toward a column of inflatable tanks. One drone acted as a “leader,” guiding the other three toward their targets, which exploded in synchronized pops, according to a video of the demo. 

The military and tech companies have demonstrated drone swarms before, but officials are touting this latest exercise as the first time they’ve attacked simulated targets, armed with live ordnance.

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