U.S. Army Rangers evaluate drone-launching mothership

Petrel Technologies says the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment evaluated its AERO Sky unmanned aircraft during a live-fire mothership exercise, carrying externally mounted strike drones and serving as an airborne communications relay. The vertical-take-off, fixed-wing system is designed for one operator, rapid assembly and integration with Android Team Awareness Kit software. It can route command links through mesh networks, satellite communications or LTE to support units beyond direct line of sight. Petrel did not disclose how many drones were carried, whether any were released against targets or what further Army testing is planned.