
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is in the midst of a series of tests to advance swarming technology for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Recent demonstrations involved launching small UAVs from tubes and having as many as nine of them fly in formation autonomously. In mid-May at Fort Benning, Ga., ONR plans to boost that number to 20 UAVs, said ONR program manager Lee Mastroianni.And in the spring or early summer of 2016, the agency intends to launch 30 such UAVs…