Video shows Perdix microdrone launched from fighter jet flare dispenser

The Pentagons Strategic Capabilities Office has been testing micro-drones that can be dropped from moving fighter jets for nearly two years and for the first time has released a video to show it.

The video showss a flare canister falling after being released from an F-16 fighter jet over Alaska. A tiny parachute slows its fall until the canister breaks open, releasing the drone inside. Another video reviewed by The Washington Post, but not yet released, shows the micro-drones flying in packs of at least 20.

The Perdix drone program costs about $20 million — less than the price of a single fighter jet — and calls for SCO to figure out a way to launch drones from fighter jets, with all the constraints that might entail.

They have flown the UAV more than 500 times—about 300 of them from aircraft—and are now on Perdix’s seventh generation.

The micro-UAV is assembled entirely from commercial parts fitted into a 3D-printed fuselage.

This closeup photograph shows a Perdix micro-drone, which the Pentagon wants to drop out of fighter jets and fly in packs. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

SOURCES- Washington Post, Defense One