ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga.— The Air Force system for deploying palletized munitions has officially become a Program of Record.
On April 1, management of the Dragon Cart program formally transitioned to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Combat Readiness Directorate, marking a major milestone in delivering game-changing capability to the operational Air Force.
The program traces its roots back to the Air Force Research Laboratory under the name Rapid Dragon, an experimental effort to prove that mobility aircraft, like the C-130 and C-17, could safely release payloads from their cargo holds. Dragon Cart builds on lessons learned from the experimental campaign with goal of fielding in 2027.
Strategic Impact and Standoff Capability
Dragon Cart can deliver multiple payloads from stand-off distances, putting adversary assets at risk.
The platform integrates standard airlift inventory and airdrop equipment with the U.S. government-owned Battle Management System. This allows palletized configurations of kinetic effect— such as the Family of Affordable Mass Missiles (FAMM)—to be rolled onto an airlift aircraft, dropped out the back, and dispensed in mid-air around the globe.
“This program provides the operational ambiguity, adversary deterrence and additional command options to maximize operational effects,” said JiaJia Lee, the directorate’s Dragon Cart program manager. “It gives us the option to transform mobility aircraft into powerful strike platforms, unlocking capabilities we wouldn't normally have in how we employ our airlift fleet.
A "Born Digital" Program of Record
A major factor in Dragon Cart’s rapid transition to a Program of Record is its foundational acquisition strategy. Unlike many legacy defense programs, Dragon Cart is structured to maximize government data rights and maintain government control of the technical baseline.
“Dragon Cart is literally the ‘born digital’ dream come true,” said Kent Mueller who is the systems engineering program manager and program architect with the Dragon Cart program. “It is a system that was born inside Model-Based Systems Engineering models. Because we own the engineering, if a new payload needs a launch module that is slightly longer, we just model it, do the load path analysis, and send that model to our production vendors.”
By assembling proven, existing technologies in novel ways and maintaining strict control over the digital architecture, the program office has eliminated traditional roadblocks, allowing for rapid scaling and future upgrades.
Next Steps
Moving forward as a Program of Record, the team is utilizing the Middle Tier Acquisition – Rapid Fielding pathway to expediently field the Dragon Cart solution with integrated payloads. The program plans to award prototype contracts to companies in May.