114 A new, blended-reality environment for integrating crewed and uncrewed systems and, separately, a semi-automated, containerised, 3D-printing facility for modular UAVs, are indicators of an evolving approach to agile military capabilities that is centred on uncrewed. The projects are Land Digital Robotics and Autonomous Systems Integration Capability (L-DRIC), a UK military initiative from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), and xCell, a concept for a high-volume, distributed manufacturing system for UAVs and spares, etc. Under development by Thales, Catalyst and DCE, L-DRIC is described as a system-of-systems digital-twin environment that enables operators and researchers to experiment in both the virtual and physical domains, presenting them with a single interface via which they can command real and simulated vehicles that are crewed and uncrewed. L-DRIC will use AI applications such as Thales’ DigitalCrew, intended to reduce cognitive burdens on operators while enhancing operational effectiveness. The broad aim is to facilitate experimentation, particularly in beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) missions, with a view to advancing the British Army’s own ISR strike capability. An easily deployable, containerised, modular and scalable factory, xCell is the key element of a system being developed by Firestorm in the US, which includes two UAVs. The first is Tempest, a small, modular vehicle with a 55 lb maximum take-off weight, a 10 lb payload and a 7 ft wingspan. The second is called el Nino, about which no details have been released beyond a silhouette revealing thin, steeply swept wings and what appear to be mid-body air intakes for a jet engine. Designed for semi-automated operation with ‘limited human-in-theloop’ operation, xCell features additive manufacturing and robot-assisted assembly to enable future expeditionary factories to produce Firestorm vehicles in large volumes. The system comes with its own generators, making it independent of power grids. Both can be viewed as a response to developments seen as major threats in the West. The first is the success of Russian ISR strike capabilities in Ukraine, which rely on an innovative and rapidly evolving mix of crewed and uncrewed systems. Russia and Ukraine have made UAVs almost ubiquitous on the battlefield, and it is now impossible to move large forces around without being detected and, further, the time between detection and attack has been reduced drastically – in some cases from minutes to seconds. Secondly, there is the realisation that the West’s military industrial complex, as currently structured, cannot keep up with its Russian and Chinese counterparts when it comes to producing weapon systems in quantity – particularly in China’s case, because of the sheer scale and sophistication of its manufacturing sector. This is a problem for the US military, compounded by the fact that in any conflict with China in the western Pacific it would be operating on the end of a long logistic chain that could prove very vulnerable. So, in-theatre ‘expeditionary’ manufacturing may be part of the solution. In Ukraine, the industrial problem is made more acute by Russia’s ability to locate and destroy conventional military production facilities, so the modular and containerised nature of xCell and its power-grid independence lend it more easily to concealment. Both are remarkable innovations, sadly produced by the pressures of war and the prospect of more. December/January 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology PS | L-DRIC and Firestorm Now, here’s a thing It is now impossible to move large forces around without being detected… the time between detection and attack has been reduced – in some cases to seconds
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