Grasshopper cargo gliders for American C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft
USA, May 12, 2025 – First of all, it is necessary to realize that individual branches or services of the American armed forces are increasingly willing to develop new capabilities that are asymmetrical to the growing capabilities of their potential adversaries. There is a realization that the United States cannot compete with China in shipbuilding, Russia or the DPRK in the production of artillery ammunition, Iran in the production of kamikaze drones, and the Houthis in the production of sandals. This article will describe a cargo glider that is intended to enable the air transport of essential supplies to places where manned transport aircraft or helicopters could not land due to the high risk of their destruction.
Thus it happened that the United States Air Force (USAF) has put into service another new self-guided glider to deliver cargo to “high-risk environments” without endangering the manned aircraft. They were developed in cooperation with the supplier DZYNE Technologies and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL – leads the invention, development and introduction into service of combat technologies for the US air, space and cyber forces. The current commander of the AFRL is Brigadier General J.E. Bartolomei. However, several senior AFRL officials do not have a military rank before their name, but an academic degree).
In early May 2025, the new “Grasshopper” gliders were introduced, and an AFRL spokesman said that “several dozen” units had already been delivered.
Suspicious video with Grasshopper gliders released by the AFRL. This may be related to the information given in the video that a model with auxiliary propulsion by small jet engines to extend the range is already being prepared.
DZYNE Technologies issued a press release at the same time, stating that its solution brings advances in the field of low-cost and precise aerial deliveries for disaster relief and combat zones, and confirmed the delivery of the first series of gliders to the USAF. The company claims that in collaboration with AFRL it was able to develop the glider from the research phase to inclusion in the armament in less than 12 months. It considers it a transformational leap in autonomous aerial supply. The Grasshopper is intended to enable the delivery of cargo from beyond the range of enemy threats, or. into environments controlled by the adversary (A2/AD – Anti-access/Area denial). It can also deliver humanitarian aid and can be deployed from a variety of air platforms.
The company confirmed that, following the success of the short-to-medium-range Grasshopper, it is actively developing a longer-range version, which should be available in early 2026. A new 125,000-square-foot plant in Irvine, California, is now expanding production of Grasshopper gliders.
The company did not confirm in its press release that the glider costs $40,000 (€36,000) as reported by AFRL. Nor did it confirm that the long-range version of the Grasshopper glider will be called Dragonfly (again, dragonfly, like the HPCS repair machine from the previous article, those dragonflies are probably overabundant in the US) or what engines it will be powered by.
This only appeared in the AFRL report, which further states that the Grasshopper can carry up to 500 pounds (227 kg) of supplies and can be launched from cargo aircraft such as the C-17 and C-130 using a rear cargo ramp. It can reach speeds of 109 miles per hour and glide “tens of miles” depending on the altitude of the launch. The glider is also autonomous and capable of navigating in GPS-denied environments, allowing it to pilot autonomously and land on a built-in parachute.
The US Air Force Magazine added to the topic by mentioning the upcoming SOF Week Special Forces conference and said that the gliders would be a good complement to the tactical concept of “Agile Combat Employment”. It is intended to allow AFSOC (Air Force Special Operations Command) to quickly resupply forces deployed on remote islands or poorly prepared airfields under enemy attack, without having to send a full cargo plane. The USAF has been interested in smaller gliders for years – the AFRL originally tasked Silent Arrow with downsizing its one-ton GD-2000 cargo glider in 2021.
Peter North
