×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Small Arms Warships & Submarines Military Ranks Military Pay Chart (2024) Special Forces
HOME
AVIATION INDEX
MODERN AIR FORCES
AIRCRAFT BY COUNTRY
AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS
COMPARE AIRCRAFT
AIRCRAFT BY CONFLICT
AIRCRAFT BY TYPE
AIRCRAFT BY DECADE
MODERN AIRCRAFT
X-PLANE AIRCRAFT
DRONE TECHNOLOGY
Aviation / Aerospace

Dynetics X-61 Gremlins


Experimental Low-Cost, Recoverable UAV/UCAV [ 2019 ]



The Dynetics X-61 Gremlins program, sponsored by DARPA, looks to create a low-cost, recoverable drone system.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 08/27/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]
The future of aerial warfare is clearly the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and the conflicts of the early 21st Century furthered defined their over-battlefield roles and value. As the years have advanced from the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, so too has the field of drone technology where, today, systems are being developed that surpass anything possible just a decade or so ago. As their tactical value increases, so too does global demand for aerial systems that will keep pilots and crew from harm's way - and with this technology comes a cost.

As such, the X-61 "Gremlins" by U.S.-based Dynetics is being designed, under the leadership of DARPA, as a low-cost, reusable drone system. The company was one of four concerns to be granted a development contract back in 2016 and was awarded the official winner in April of 2018. The base experimental model is designated as the "X-61A" and a fleet of five experimental vehicles were built for the program. A low-cost, logistically-friendly approach allows the vehicle to be built in number rapidly and use existing ground support and control systems already in use with the United States military.

The X-61 features an appearance not unlike a missile, with its rounded fuselage, rounded nosecone, low-mounted mainplanes, and an "X-type" tailplane arrangement. The propulsion scheme involves a Williams F107 non-afterburning turbofan engine for subsonic flight, offering 700lb of thrust output, which propels the vehicle to speeds nearing Mach 0.6 (460mph) with an operational range out to 300 nautical miles (345 miles). Dimensions include a running length of 13.8 feet, a wingspan of 11.4 feet, and a height of 1.7 feet. Gross weight reaches 1,500lb.

The X-61 is capable of carrying a payload consisting of various sensors and optics to cover the Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR) role while plans are being forged to have the system contribute in the Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) role as well (air-launched missiles and precision-guided drop weapons are assumed).

First flight of the X-61 system occurred in November of 2019 as the vessel was carried aboard its accompanying C-130A Hercules "mothership". In January of 2020, the aircraft completed its first untethered flight - though a failure of its recovery parachute meant a total loss of the prototype. Unlike other UAVs, the in-development X-61 is not wholly autonomous and utilizes input from a control operator stationed on the ground or on the mothership itself.

Work on the X-61 continues as of this writing (August 2020) and will be updated as appropriate.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

August 2020 - Dynetics has flown the second X-61A prototype from an accompanying C-130 Hercules transport - the UAV able to remain in formation with its mothership. An aerial recovery test is tentatively scheduled before the end of 2020.

Specifications



Dynetics (Leidos) - USA
Manufacturer(s)
United States
Operators National flag of the United States
2019
Service Year
United States
National Origin
In-Development
Project Status
0
(UNMANNED)
Crew
2
Units


GROUND ATTACK
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.
X-PLANE
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.
UNMANNED
Aircraft inherently designed (or later developed) with an unmanned capability to cover a variety of over-battlefield roles.


13.8 ft
(4.20 meters)
Length
11.3 ft
(3.45 meters)
Width/Span
1.7 ft
(0.52 meters)
Height
1,543 lb
(700 kilograms)
Maximum Take-Off Weight


1 x Williams F107 turbofan engines developing 700lb of thrust.
Propulsion
460 mph
(740 kph | 400 knots)
Max Speed
348 miles
(560 km | 302 nm)
Range


MACH Regime (Sonic)
Sub
Trans
Super
Hyper
HiHyper
ReEntry
RANGES (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hi-Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: >19030


For ISR role, mission equipment to consist of various sensors, imagers, and related systems.

For armed combat role, possibility exists to carry various air-launched, precision-guided weapons.


0
Hardpoints


X-61 Gremlins - Base Project Designation.
X-61A - Base Prototype Designation; five examples completed.


Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force
Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway
Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift
Military lapel ribbon for the Chaco War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War
Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars
Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War
Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War
Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War
Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War
Military lapel ribbon for Special Forces
Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era
Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2
Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War
Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Images



1 / 2
Image of the Dynetics X-61 Gremlins
Image from DARPA; released to the Public Domain.
2 / 2
Image of the Dynetics X-61 Gremlins
Image from DARPA; released to the Public Domain.

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.


©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)