Swarm Aero unveils Gamera for Air Force drone program

Swarm Aero unveiled Gamera, a Reaper-sized Group 5 drone it has been developing since 2022 for the Air Force’s Massed Modular Aircraft program. The California startup says the aircraft has a 72-foot wingspan, uses Honeywell Aerospace’s TPE331 turboprop engine, and could be flight-ready as early as next year.

Swarm said Gamera is designed for a mission radius of over 2,500 miles, payload capacity of 2,800lbs, and self-deployment over 8,000 miles at a cruise speed of over 200 knots. Its payload is intended to include JASSM-ER-class long-range strike munitions, while Legion collaborative autonomy software is meant to coordinate swarms and has been tested across platforms during a Navy exercise.

The Air Force and DIU are seeking unmanned aircraft to replace MQ-9 Reapers under the program, with requirements including an unrefueled combat radius of 2,300 nautical miles, a range of 8,000 nautical miles, and payload capacity of 2,800lbs at around $10M each. The service wants aircraft flying as early as 2029 and ultimately plans to field at least 180.

Swarm co-founder and CRO Oliver Palmer said Gamera can come in below $10M at volume and argued the company’s years of design, manufacturing, and command-and-control work give it an advantage over General Atomics, which unveiled its competing Wildfire drone. General Atomics says Wildfire is designed for collaborative operations and could arrive years earlier than the FY2031 timeline in DIU’s solicitation.