US military is developing 'Gremlin' drones to overwhelm enemy defenses

They were the mischievous creatures blamed for causing mechanical failures and faults on aircraft during World War Two and later the destructive monsters in a hit film franchise. So Gremlins might not seem like the first choice for a fleet of robotic aircraft being developed by the US military. But the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is developing swarms of re-usable drone aircraft that can work together to perform a mission, which it has called the Gremlins program. Darpa said the program has been deliberately named Gremlins after the imps that British pilots during Wold War Two adopted as their good luck charms. The idea is to replace the expensive and increasingly vulnerable multi-function combat aircraft which currently perform a range of different missions.