L3Harris Presents "Wolf Pack" Strategy for Affordable Missile Swarms Equipped with Both Kinetic and Nonkinetic Capabilities
L3Harris Unveils Affordable Swarming Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System: Wolf Pack
L3Harris Technologies has announced the development of a new series of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) called the Wolf Pack. This innovative system, designed to be launched from various platforms, is set to revolutionize the field of unmanned aerial warfare.
The Wolf Pack series is a family of modular UAVs that offer advanced capabilities, including swarming, autonomy, and multi-role flexibility. The vehicles are designed to collaborate and be retargeted during missions, providing operators with the ability to execute complex group operations.
One of the key features of the Wolf Pack series is its modularity. Operators can choose from a range of payload effects, including kinetic, electronic warfare, decoys, or communication relay, without the need for a large variety of separate munitions. This modular design allows for versatility and adaptability across ground, maritime, and expeditionary missions.
The system consists of two primary munitions: the Red Wolf and the Green Wolf.
Red Wolf: A Long-Range Precision Kinetic Strike Vehicle
The Red Wolf is a kinetic strike vehicle designed for long-range precision attacks. Capable of being launched from platforms such as the Bell AH-1Z attack helicopter, the Red Wolf extends the range of traditional short-range weapons by 20 to 50 times. While it can operate as a single vehicle like a cruise missile, it excels when deployed in swarms. The Red Wolf supports a mix of lethal payloads to strike a variety of targets.
Green Wolf: An Electronic Warfare Vehicle for Enhanced Battlefield Awareness
The Green Wolf is an electronic warfare vehicle with capabilities for Electronic Attack (EA) and Detect, Identify, Locate, and Report (DILR). The Green Wolf enables jamming, electromagnetic disruption, and battlefield awareness enhancement, offering operators a powerful tool for complicating enemy defenses.
The Wolf Pack series is built with a cost-effective design, aiming to impose cost on adversaries by being affordable enough to force expensive counters. In some cases, the vehicles are deliberately visible to encourage engagement with costly defensive missiles.
The new munitions are part of an increasingly crowded field of one-way or recoverable missile-like vehicles. Similar systems are being developed or produced by Anduril Industries, Lockheed Martin, General Atomics, Zone 5 Industries, and others.
L3Harris has accommodated customer requests for parachutes to allow recovery of some rounds for training purposes. The Wolf Pack vehicles can potentially be deployed in containerized versions, similar to the Rapid Dragon model, where pallets of weapons are launched out the back of a cargo aircraft.
The systems are being built in Ashburn, Va., on a modular assembly line that is now spooling up production. The Air Force is observing what the Navy/Marine Corps are doing with Wolf Pack and showing "tremendous interest." The F-35, AH-1Z, and Navy Seahawk helicopters are among the platforms that can house the Wolf Pack munitions.
The Wolf Pack series offers a strategic battlefield advantage by enhancing lethality, situational awareness, and adaptability across various missions, allowing joint force interoperability. As the Air Force starts to see the system operating in real environments, it is expected to become increasingly interested in the capabilities of the Wolf Pack series.
[1] L3Harris Technologies. (n.d.). Wolf Pack. Retrieved from https://www.l3harris.com/products-and-services/autonomous-systems/wolf-pack
[2] Defense News. (2021, February 23). L3Harris unveils new swarming drone family, Wolf Pack. Retrieved from https://www.defensenews.com/platforms/unmanned/2021/02/23/l3harris-unveils-new-swarming-drone-family-wolf-pack/
[3] Military & Aerospace Electronics. (2021, February 23). L3Harris reveals new Wolf Pack unmanned aerial vehicle family. Retrieved from https://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/2021/02/l3harris-wolf-pack-unmanned-aerial-vehicle-family.html
[4] C4ISRNET. (2021, February 23). L3Harris unveils new swarming drone family, Wolf Pack. Retrieved from https://www.c4isrnet.com/platforms/2021/02/23/l3harris-unveils-new-swarming-drone-family-wolf-pack/
- The Pentagon is studying the Wolf Pack, a new series of unmanned aerial vehicles developed by L3Harris Technologies, as it could revolutionize air force warfare with advanced capabilities like swarming, autonomy, and multi-role flexibility.
- The Defense Department, along with the Air Force and Space Force, is showing tremendous interest in the Wolf Pack series due to its potential to enhance lethality, situational awareness, and adaptability across various missions.
- The Wolf Pack series includes two primary munitions: the Red Wolf, a long-range precision kinetic strike vehicle capable of being launched from platforms like the Bell AH-1Z attack helicopter, and the Green Wolf, an electronic warfare vehicle designed for enhanced battlefield awareness.
- The aerospace industry is witnessing a surge in the development of one-way or recoverable missile-like vehicles, with companies like Lockheed Martin, General Atomics, Anduril Industries, and Zone 5 Industries also working on similar systems.
- The finance sector plays a crucial role in the development of these advanced weapons, as the increasing competition among defense contractors fuels innovation and growth within the industry.
- Space Force is keeping a close eye on these developments, as space-based platforms could potentially provide extended launch and control capabilities for these drone munitions, making them even more formidable in warfare.
- The military, taking advantage of advancements in technology, is increasingly investing in drone warfare, seeing it as an effective method to mitigate risks to human life and reduce costs in operations.
- As these new drone systems, like L3Harris' Wolf Pack, become more widespread, there are concerns about escalating arms races and the potential for exponentially increasing militarization in the future.
