US Marines are exploring using helicopters as ‘airborne motherships’ and flying command posts for FPV drones

• The US Marine Corps has tested the deployment and control of FPV drones from helicopters.

• They also transferred control of a UAV launched by the ground forces to a helicopter kilometers away.

• These practices can give sailors advantages in combat.

The U.S. Marine Corps is testing new roles for H-1 helicopters, investigating whether they could serve as airborne launch and control platforms for first-person view drones.

The concepts combine crewed and uncrewed capabilities by using helicopters to extend the reach of small, low-cost drones, giving Marines another way to engage targets without pushing aircraft deep into contested airspace.

During a recent training exercise in California, the Marines said their helicoptersairborne capital ships“For air command centers to launch and control FPV drones,” the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said in a statement.

For testing, Marines from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169 and the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion used two. modern H-1 helicopters: The UH-1Y Venom utility helicopter, which entered service in 2008 as an upgrade to the UH-1N Twin Huey, and the AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter, which replaced the AH-1 SuperCobra.

At the Twentynine Palms test event, the Marine Corps successfully deployed an FPV drone from a mobile helicopter.

Marines also attempted to transfer control to a remote helicopter via line-of-sight link. After receiving their duties in the naval land forces Neros Archer FPV drone Control of the uncrewed aircraft was handed over to the expert operator team inside the UH-1Y Venom helicopter, kilometers away. The helicopter maintained contact and flew the drone to its target, serving as a “flying command center” and “airborne control station.”

The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said these approaches offer “commanders a scalable, cost-effective option to service a broad range of threats without putting aircraft at risk or expending expensive munitions on each target.”

Neros Archer is the world’s most popular first-person perspective drone. Marine Corps infantry. Necros has a $17 million contract with the Marine Corps to build thousands of drones and also produces systems for Ukraine.

Like many FPV drones, the Archer can carry different payloads, and how far it can fly depends in part on the weight it carries. The Navy used it for testing because it is already widely used and performs well.

Starting and checking FPV drones A UH-1Y crew chief said air strikes from helicopters have the potential to reduce the risk to Marine aircrews. “We still provide our ground support and close air support, but in a way that allows drones to close in on the enemy and destroy him, rather than endangering our Marines,” said Sgt. Matthew Pocklington.

Having more drones on helicopters could allow onboard operators to potentially attack systems in coordinated attacks.

Beyond the Marine Corps’ latest test, the United States is focusing on manned-unmanned teaming more broadly. There are several projects in the works where the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy have advanced drones that fly alongside crewed aircraft, operate autonomously, or receive instructions from human pilots.

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