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according to a us defense website, the us department of defense recently announced that it has signed a $990 million contract with aerovironment to provide the us army with more than 1,000 switchblade drones. the report said that this purchase is an important part of the "replicator program", indicating that the project has entered the specific implementation stage in the us army.

the picture shows the us army's light ground vehicle launching a small drone

forming battlefield confrontation advantage

it is reported that the "replicator program" was proposed by us deputy secretary of defense kathryn hicks in august 2023. it aims to promote the large-scale production of low-cost unmanned equipment by deploying a large number of low-cost, consumable unmanned equipment in a short period of time, meet the short-term combat needs of the us military, and form a confrontation advantage in future operations. in may this year, the us department of defense disclosed that the "replicator program" will invest a total of us$1 billion in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 to purchase equipment such as unmanned submarines, unmanned surface ships and drones. the unit price of these unmanned equipment will range from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars, with a designed service life of 3 to 5 years, and the initial deployment is expected to be completed within 18 to 24 months.

according to reports, as part of the "replicator program", the switchblade series of drones purchased by the us army this time mainly include the switchblade 600 and switchblade 300 drones. the switchblade 600 drone has a range of 40 kilometers and a hovering time of more than 40 minutes. with anti-armor warheads, it can destroy various armored vehicles or bunker targets. after the upgrade, the switchblade 300 drone has a range of 30 kilometers and a hovering time of 20 minutes, and can attack targets such as light armored vehicles. the american aerovironment company said that it will deliver the switchblade drone to the army within a few months.

regarding the deployment of these drones, the u.s. army said that they are mainly used and managed by infantry brigades and special forces. the u.s. army also said that in the future they will focus on how to deploy unmanned equipment on a large scale on the battlefield through effective and controllable artificial intelligence and network technologies.

in addition, katherine hicks announced in may this year that the us department of defense has begun implementing the "replicator project" in multiple units under the jurisdiction of the indo-pacific command.

improving innovative combat capabilities

analysts said that the us department of defense’s high-profile announcement of the specific content of the “replicator project” at this time is intended to achieve multiple goals.

first, it is to accumulate power for the reform and transformation of the u.s. army. in february this year, the u.s. army announced that it would carry out a comprehensive reform of its force structure and released the white paper "army force structure transformation", intending to build a well-trained and lethal force in the next 10 years. against this background, the u.s. army has recently announced a series of new force reorganization plans such as the communications battalion and the theater network task force. the army version of the "replicator plan" launched this time is intended to build momentum for the reform and transformation of the army.

secondly, promote the implementation of the "replicator project" of various military services. when the "replicator project" was proposed, katherine hicks said that the plan would be a multi-domain combat mission system covering land, sea, air and underwater. analysts said that the rapid implementation of the us army's "replicator project" will help other military services to quickly promote the implementation of the project. as for the us navy, in october 2023, the us navy established an office to study innovative fleet operations. one of its important tasks is to provide the us navy with more feasible solutions in the "replicator project" project.

in may this year, a us navy procurement official said in an interview that the us navy has established three projects related to the "replicator project". although the us air force has not yet disclosed more relevant information, in february this year, the xq-67a drone manufactured by general atomics aeronautical systems for the us air force made its first test flight. the company's senior management said that the drone is low-cost, has advanced performance, can be produced quickly, and can meet the challenges of future great power competition. the media believes that this move may be related to the "replicator project".

again, aggregate the advantages of commercial resources. analysts said that the "replicator project" is essentially a large-scale combination of artificial intelligence, networks, and unmanned platforms. the us department of defense announced the specific content of the plan this time, and it is also intended to mobilize commercial resources to maintain the technological advantages and vitality in this field. according to foreign media reports, the us defense company shield ai launched a new drone swarm project specifically for the "replicator project" in october 2023. the drone swarm can act autonomously in a high-threat environment without the guidance of gps or communication commands. in april this year, a us startup defense company demonstrated two unmanned surface vessels specially developed for the "replicator project." one of them is called cutlass, which can extend network signals at sea and solve the network communication problems in maritime operations. the other is called spyglass, which is designed for individual or collaborative cluster tactical deployment and can conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations at night.

implementation prospects unclear

although the us department of defense is full of confidence in the "replicator project", given that many us defense innovation projects have failed to successfully transform concepts into practice, the "replicator project" is not favored by the outside world.

on the one hand, the u.s. military production capacity is limited. according to the requirements of the "replicator program", more than 1,000 "switchblade" drones need to be purchased and deployed within two years, but information released by the american aerovironment company shows that due to the overload of the company's production line, the order will be delivered in batches and is expected to be completed within five years. relevant people said that the "replicator program" is characterized by short-term large-scale deployment. if the time is repeatedly delayed, the drones may lose their counter-attack advantage due to "outdated technology."

on the other hand, the "replicator project" lacks effective management. when the project was first proposed, american military expert bill greenwalt said that the timetable proposed by the "replicator project" was unrealistic and that the department of defense could not purchase the relevant equipment according to the timetable. some cooperating defense companies also called the management of the project "chaotic and disorderly." in addition, the purchase of large-scale unmanned equipment will inevitably require a large number of operators. how to arrange these personnel and whether a special unmanned equipment department needs to be established is also a problem that needs to be solved.