UK Army drone swarm tests hailed as ground-breaking

Army officials in the UK say they’ve successfully tested military use of drone swarms, hailing them for breaking new technical ground in multiple UAV operation by a single pilot.

A release issued Thursday by the UK Army said its nano-Uncrewed Aerial Systems (nUAS) project conducted a series of trials using single-pilot swarms of either four or six drones. In addition to the technical capacities demonstrated in the tests, officials say the program also broke new regulatory ground. It was the first flight of multiple-UAV controlled by a single operator authorized by the country’s Military Aviation Authority, a precedent organizers hope will facilitate future approvals.

The UK Army demonstrations used two types of drone systems for swarm operation by one pilot. The first, called Atlas, involved four UAVs flown manually with a tablet serving as controller. The second, Elbit, called for the pilot to program autonomous flight of six different craft –…