A team of soldiers with Pennsylvania’s Army National Guard’s 28th Infantry Division has invented a drone featuring a claw-like device to retrieve downed drones.

According to its developers, the Project RED (Recovery Exploitation Drone) drones were designed to fly over and inspect downed unmanned aircraft systems using artificial intelligence (AI) software to distinguish friendly from enemy drones.

Source: DVIDS

As soon as a Project RED drone identifies a target, the drone will then use it claw-like robotic arm, which is 3D printed and composed of carbon fiber, to grasp the fallen drone and then transport it to a base for repair or for the purpose of intel exploitation.

Project RED was recently awarded the Best Innovation at the U.S. Army’s inaugural Best Drone Warfighter Competition held in Huntsville, Alabama.