Original BLU 108 submunitions are the “puck” like deals, about the size of 3 or 4 hockey pucks stuck together. After they find a target they fire a self forging projectile at it.
That particular drone might only do 18mph, but you can build and fly ones smaller, and WAY faster. That drone size would actually be more amenable to off the shelf 15-35 CC gas engines. Green stupidity is getting in the way of military logic. It’s way easier, and flexible, to power these autonomous or RC vehicles with liquid fuel engines once the size exceeds about 18 inches square. The engines are figuratively a dime a dozen, the battery materials could get mighty scarce on short notice.
My buddies FPV racing drones are just touching 200mph, without an explosive payload they’d still be a major deal flown into a turbine, or at a person, with just a kitchen knife taped to it (arf!)
Cheap drones will, probably for at least a short period, pay for themselves 100 times over merely by absorbing air defense missiles.
I knew that part, did you know those submunitions are unstable once they are separated? The BLU 108 solves this with the canister packaging, drogue chutes, retro rocket assemblies. The pucks arm and operate while they are spinning coming out of the assembly.
Cheap drones will, probably for at least a short period, pay for themselves 100 times over merely by absorbing air defense missiles.
While there is some research pointing that way, I think we are a long way from hardened drones that would work in a high threat jammed environment. The jets dropping BLU-108 are doing 4 1/2 bills at least. We are a long way from that.