Auterion has successfully conducted a live-fire demonstration of an autonomous combat drone swarm at a US military test range in Florida, highlighting a one-to-many lethal strike capability using small, expendable unmanned systems. The trial showcased how a single operator can control multiple armed drones simultaneously, significantly expanding tactical options for small military units.
During the exercise, one operator directed three autonomous strike drones, each fitted with Explosively Formed Penetrator (EFP) warheads supplied by Kraken Kinetics. The drones independently engaged and destroyed three separate targets, demonstrating effective operator-to-multiple-target engagement under real-world conditions.
The system is powered by Auterion’s Skynode hardware combined with the Nemyx swarm engine software, which enables high levels of autonomy. While the operator assigns mission objectives, the software autonomously manages navigation, formation control, deconfliction, and terminal guidance, allowing coordinated strikes without continuous human input.
Auterion said the demonstration builds on earlier multi-platform tests, including a recent exercise integrating unmanned aircraft from multiple manufacturers under a single operating system. That test combined first-person view loitering munitions and medium-range fixed-wing drones to execute a complete find-fix-finish kill chain under human supervision. The company is also advancing long-range strike capabilities through the Artemis drone program, finalized in October 2025 under a US Defense Innovation Unit initiative, featuring resilient navigation and precision visual targeting.
