Military utility and cost of cargo launched combat air vehicles

TOPIC SPONSOR: AFRL

Recent AFRL/AFSOC work, such as the CLEAVER project, demonstrates the feasibility of launching large numbers of small, potentially long-range air vehicles from cargo aircraft. The use of large numbers of such vehicles in combat would be a new CONOPs for the DAF. How can these vehicles be used across a wide range of roles in support of the NDS requirement to prevail in combat against both near-peer and regional competitors? How does the cost of solutions including CLEAVER-type systems compare to the costs of alternative approaches to the same military requirements?