Cummings Aerospace demonstrates control of two Hellhound S3 drones from one controller — AeroTime
US company Cummings Aerospace demonstrated the flight control of two jet-powered Hellhound S3 attack drones using a single handheld system at the Pendleton UAS Range in Oregon on August 25. AeroTime reports that the unmanned aircraft were launched sequentially from a new launcher mounted on a Polaris utility vehicle.
Both aircraft carried inert payloads and flew different pre-programmed routes at different speeds. Before launch, a company engineer set waypoints, altitude and trajectory for each drone through the handheld fire-control system.
Operator controlled two autonomous missions
After launch, the Hellhound S3s autonomously followed their designated routes and exchanged data with the control console. A single operator could monitor both flights in real time and, if necessary, modify or abort either mission.
The test involved centralized control of two separate autonomous missions rather than direct coordination between the drones. The company said the test completed all assigned objectives.
For the Hellhound S3, this was the first launch from a vehicle, the first sequential launch of multiple aircraft, and the first time one operator controlled multiple drones through a single system. Previously, the system had completed more than a dozen flights in a portable configuration.
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Claimed Hellhound S3 specifications
The Hellhound S3 is a 3D-printed turbojet drone weighing about 6 kg. Cummings Aerospace positions it as a multipurpose system that can be used as a loitering munition, a precision strike asset, a one-way drone or a counter-drone system.
The modular design allows four payload types to be changed: armor-piercing, high-explosive fragmentation, electronic warfare modules and decoys. The company says the aircraft can reach speeds of about 618 km/h and strike targets at a distance of more than 60 km. It calculated this range based on a previous flight of more than 30 km, after which, according to the company, the drone had more than half of its fuel remaining.
Next tests
The new launcher can carry up to eight Hellhound S3s. According to the company, two people can lift it and mount it on various military vehicles. Cummings Aerospace named salvo launches of several drones and tests of the system on unmanned ground and surface platforms as the next stages.
The company had previously planned to offer Hellhound for the US Army's LASSO program, which provides for the development of portable precision strike systems for infantry units. Textron Systems with the Damocles munition and AeroVironment with the Switchblade 400 have already received prototype contracts under this program.
