Palladyne AI Secures U.S. Army Contracts for SwarmOS and Gremlin‑X Autonomous Systems

Palladyne AI has been awarded two U.S. Army contracts to advance and operationally validate its SwarmOS autonomy software and Gremlin X mini bomber UAV. The awards were made under the Army’s competitive Disruptive Applications Broad Agency Announcement, placing both technologies directly into field exercises with Army units.

Advancing Decentralized Collaborative Autonomy

SwarmOS is Palladyne AI’s edge based autonomy and collaborative control software stack designed to allow a single operator to manage unmanned systems from multiple manufacturers at once. The system is engineered for decentralized operations in degraded or denied communications environments, a priority for modern Army concepts that emphasize resilience and distributed decision making.

Palladyne AI’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Denis Garagic, noted that the challenge in autonomy is not making one platform intelligent but enabling heterogeneous platforms to collaborate without reliance on centralized infrastructure. SwarmOS is designed to address that requirement through on platform processing and decentralized coordination.

Gremlin X as a Reusable Strike UAV

Gremlin X, formerly known as Banshee, is a reusable Group 2 multirotor strike UAV developed to give small, dispersed formations a low cost means of engaging time critical targets. The aircraft is designed to operate in denied, degraded, intermittent, and limited communications environments and can return for reuse after delivering its munition. Because the airframe is recovered, recurring cost per strike is driven primarily by the munition rather than the platform, offering a cost advantage over traditional expendable loitering munitions.

Field Demonstrations With Army Units

Under the new contracts, Palladyne AI will demonstrate SwarmOS and Gremlin X during a series of U.S. Army 4th Infantry Division exercises in Colorado and California. These events will evaluate SwarmOS in reconnaissance and target acquisition missions using Army specified platforms and the Android Team Awareness Kit interface.

The company will also participate in Northern Strike 26 2, a major joint exercise involving more than 9,000 participants. Palladyne AI plans to demonstrate SwarmOS, IntelliSwarm, and Gremlin X in a multi domain environment, marking a significant milestone in the systems’ progression toward broader operational adoption.

Toward Programs of Record

Palladyne Aerospace and Defense President Doug Dynes stated that the contracts represent a shift in how the Army is engaging with autonomous systems, moving from evaluation to funded operational use. The 4th Infantry Division experimentation program places Palladyne AI technologies directly with warfighters across diverse mission sets, while Northern Strike will extend that validation into a joint operational context.