SWARMS
Beyond Human Pilots. Beyond Autonomous Platforms.
Our definition of swarming
Swarms represent one of the most demanding applications of distributed autonomous systems. They are often associated with coordinated flight displays or with large numbers of identical autonomous agents executing the same task over different cells of a grid-like space. These approaches capture only one particular aspect of swarming because they remain fundamentally platform-centric. They focus on the behavior or capabilities of individual platforms rather than on the operational capabilities that emerge from their interactions.
We believe the true value of swarming lies elsewhere.
A swarm is a distributed operational system whose effectiveness emerges from the active cooperation of autonomous entities. Its operational value stems from the synergies created between its members rather than from the capabilities of any individual platform.
In other words, the individual platform is no longer the primary unit of operational capability. The operational system becomes the capability.
A shift in perspective
For decades, military innovation has been measured by the performance of individual platforms: greater endurance, enhanced maneuverability. Individual platforms will continue to improve, but that evolution will no longer be the sole determinant of operational advantage.
As military assets become increasingly interconnected, the next major transformation will occur beyond the level of the individual platform. It will occur at the level of the distributed operational system. The decisive advantage will no longer come from fielding increasingly capable autonomous assets, but from enabling heterogeneous assets to cooperate as resilient distributed operational systems whose collective capabilities exceed the sum of their individual contributions.
Distributed autonomous systems will not replace individual platforms; they will become the dominant way of combining them into operational capabilities.
Our vision for asset-centered swarms on the battlefield
The proliferation of inexpensive autonomous systems is fundamentally changing the economics of modern conflict. Operational systems deployed close to the front line can no longer be designed under the assumption that every asset must survive every mission. Instead, they must be attritable while remaining capable of delivering meaningful military effect.
In the context of the conflict in Ukraine, our first and most pressing objective is therefore to enable the deployment of autonomous swarms—whether offensive UxS swarms or Counter-UAS systems—as direct close-support assets for front-line operators.
Realising this vision requires more than inexpensive platforms. It requires systems capable of continuing to operate despite communication degradation, infrastructure disruption and the inevitable loss of individual assets. Future operational effectiveness will therefore depend less on the performance of individual platforms than on the resilience and adaptability of the distributed systems they collectively form.
This vision complements, rather than competes with, the battlefield-level ISR and command-and-control architectures currently being developed throughout the defence sector. While these architectures seek to construct increasingly comprehensive digital representations of the theatre of operations, we intend to focus where the fight actually happens: at the level of the operational assets themselves.
Our ambition is thus to increase the survivability, operational effectiveness and striking capability of front-line assets by enabling resilient autonomous cooperation in their immediate vicinity—typically within a few hundred meters of the supported force—and enabling the following capabilities.
Force Awareness
Distributed sensing networks combining heterogeneous airborne and ground assets to maintain and extend the sensing, perception and situational awareness of front-line operators through cooperative reconnaissance, persistent observation and distributed information sharing.
Force Protection
Resilient autonomous systems protecting personnel and critical assets through collaborative surveillance, Counter-UAS operations, early warning and distributed defensive effects operating under human supervision.
Force Projection
Cooperative autonomous systems extending the operational reach and striking capability of supported forces through coordinated offensive actions and distributed effects.
Force Sustainment
Autonomous systems supporting military operations through resilient logistics, casualty evacuation, resupply and infrastructure support under contested conditions.
Swarming beyond the battlefield
Although our immediate focus is defence, the architectural principles underlying resilient distributed systems are not domain-specific.
Any operational environment involving heterogeneous autonomous assets, degraded infrastructure or the need for resilient cooperation presents fundamentally the same engineering challenges. The technologies developed to address military applications can therefore be naturally adapted to civilian operational environments where reliability, adaptability and distributed decision-making are equally critical.
Critical Infrastructure
Swarms of sensors and effectors protecting critical infrastructure through resilient sensing, monitoring and coordinated response.
Disaster Relief
Cooperative transport of supplies and equipment through environments where infrastructure has been severely damaged or rendered inaccessible.
Remote Operations
Swarms as a means to operational continuity in challenging environments such as industrial facilities, mining operations, offshore installations or remote work sites.