The US Air Force's development of the Rapid Dragon has transformed its cargo aircraft fleet with the ability to drop long range weapons, expanding the number of strike-capable aircraft in its arsenal.

Developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)'s Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation office, Rapid Dragon is a palletized and disposable weapon module that enables unmodified cargo aircraft to deploy flying, typically cruise, munitions.

The program was first launched in 2019, and low-level production began in 2022. Full-scale production is expected to start this year.

The Rapid Dragon missile system utilizes a specially designed "deployment box" on a standard airdrop platform to deploy traditional weapons -- namely the AGM-158 Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff missile (JASSM).

The system is designed as a roll-on roll-off capability to enable rapid fielding and eliminate the need for aircraft modification.

The box can carry up to six missiles and is stabilized by parachutes shortly after the Rapid Dragon system is deployed into the target area.

The JASSM is a low-observable air-launched cruise missile launched from stand-off distances, allowing US forces to strike the adversary targets from outside the reach of their defenses.

Initial production of the JASSM began in 2001, and an extended range version of the missile, the JASSM-ER, first went into service with the Air Force in 2014.

It is equipped with a 454kg penetrating warhead and relies on its highly accurate infrared seeker and Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Navigation System to locate targets.

With a range of up to 925km, JASSM-ER missiles situated in the Caspian Sea could reach most of Iran's known high value targets.

Target saturation

The Rapid Dragon's "palletized effects" provide a low-cost method for unmodified cargo planes, such as the C-17 and C-130 cargo aircraft, to be temporarily repurposed as stand-off bombers capable of mass-launching missiles against targets on land or at sea.

"Rapidly deployable palletized effects can saturate the airspace with multiple effects, complicate adversary targeting solutions, help open access for critical target prosecution, and deplete an adversary's air defense effects stockpile," according to AFRL.

Further, the newfound versatility of cargo aircraft granted by the Rapid Dragon complicates adversary targeting and planning as cargo aircraft operate from a wider range of bases than bombers do.

A C-130J Super Hercules can carry two pallets with a deployment box of six missile tubes per pallet.

This feature transforms a C-130J aircraft into an attack aircraft by simply adding cargo and enables the aircraft to fire up to 12 air-launched cruise missiles.

The C-17 Globemaster III can carry nine missile tubes. With a maximum payload capacity of 77,519kg, the C-17 can carry five pallets for a total of 45 JASSMs.

This enormous missile capacity would convert the C-17 into a formidable bomber.

The US Air Force's current workhorse bomber, the B-52 Stratofortress, can carry up to 32,000kg of weapons and up to 20 air-launched cruise missiles as a part of its payload.

Imbuing the US Air Force's sizable cargo aircraft fleet with bomber capabilities grants it tremendous flexibility and additional capacity.

It is estimated that Rapid Dragon could more than triple US Air Force strategic bomber capacity by several hundred aircraft. Currently, the service operates a fleet of 141 bombers in addition to 172 C-130Js, 158 C-130Hs and 228 C-17s.