DZYNE Long-Range Grasshopper

History

The DZYNE Long-Range Grasshopper is an air-launched, autonomous cargo aircraft developed in the United States for long-range standoff resupply. It carries a 227 kg (500 lb) payload and uses a turbine engine to travel more than 926 km (500 nmi) after release.

The expendable aircraft is intended to deliver supplies into contested or infrastructure-limited areas without requiring the host aircraft to approach the destination. It can navigate autonomously and complete its delivery without a runway at the receiving location.

Long-Range Grasshopper was developed by DZYNE Technologies with the US Air Force Research Laboratory. It is the powered member of the Grasshopper family and was known as Dragonfly during development.

Development

The original Grasshopper was created in response to a military requirement for low-cost cargo delivery from a standoff distance. It used an unpowered fixed-wing glider to carry supplies after release from a host aircraft. Requests for substantially greater release-to-target distance led to development of the turbine-powered Dragonfly program, subsequently named Long-Range Grasshopper.

DZYNE expanded its manufacturing capacity in November 2023 with a 11,600-square-metre (125,000-square-foot) facility in Irvine, California. The facility consolidated engineering, research, and manufacturing work for the company’s unmanned aircraft programs.

Flight testing

A Long-Range Grasshopper completed powered flight tests in late 2024 at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah and the Pendleton UAS Range in Oregon. The aircraft separated from its host platform, transitioned to stable fixed-wing flight, started its turbine engine in the air, flew under power, and completed a precision delivery at the planned landing zone. DZYNE announced the successful test in May 2025 through its official test report.

The 2024 test established the first supported physical milestone for the exact Long-Range Grasshopper variant. Contemporary reporting also confirmed that Dragonfly and Long-Range Grasshopper referred to the same aircraft at different stages of development.

Development contract

On 6 August 2026, the Air Force Research Laboratory awarded DZYNE Technologies more than US$6 million to continue development of the Grasshopper family. The work covers powered Long-Range Grasshopper aircraft and unpowered Grasshopper gliders. Priorities include greater range and endurance, modular payload integration, reliability, scalable manufacturing, and autonomous navigation in environments where GPS signals are limited or unavailable.

The contract followed the 2024–2025 test program. It did not disclose the number of aircraft, the contract duration, or a production-readiness date. The funded effort therefore represents continued development rather than confirmation of full-rate production or operational service.

Design

Airframe and deployment

Long-Range Grasshopper is an expendable, fixed-wing unmanned aircraft designed for deployment from multiple types of host aircraft. Its wings fold for carriage and deploy after release. The flight-control system stabilizes the vehicle before powered flight begins.

The aircraft is 4.06 m (160 in) long, 1.52 m (60 in) high, and has a wingspan of 6.10 m (240 in). Its nose is 1.07 m (42 in) wide. The empty weight is 295 kg (650 lb), while maximum launch weight is 771 kg (1,700 lb).

Propulsion and flight control

A turbine engine distinguishes Long-Range Grasshopper from the original unpowered glider. The engine starts after airborne deployment, allowing the aircraft to continue under power for more than 926 km (500 nmi). The additional propulsion, fuel, and associated systems increase maximum launch weight while the payload remains unchanged.

The aircraft follows a pre-programmed route autonomously. Development under the 2026 contract includes navigation for GPS-limited and GPS-denied conditions, but the available sources do not identify the sensors or navigation methods selected for this work.

Cargo delivery

Long-Range Grasshopper carries up to 227 kg (500 lb) of cargo. The funded modular-payload work is intended to accommodate different supply loads without redesigning the aircraft for each mission. Potential mission categories identified for the Grasshopper family include military resupply, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief.

At the destination, the vehicle enters a terminal descent and delivers its cargo without using a runway. The expendable design removes the need to recover and return the aircraft after a mission, but it also makes manufacturing cost, production capacity, and reliability central program requirements.

Program status

As of August 2026, Long-Range Grasshopper remained under development for the US Air Force Research Laboratory. Powered flight, airborne engine start, autonomous navigation, and precision delivery had been demonstrated, while further engineering focused on range, payload modularity, navigation under interference, reliability, and manufacturability.

The baseline unpowered Grasshopper had already been delivered to the US Air Force in multiple examples, as described in DZYNE’s May 2025 delivery announcement. This fielding does not establish that the powered Long-Range variant was operational. No production quantity or formal service-entry date for Long-Range Grasshopper had been announced.

Variants

• Grasshopper: Original autonomous, expendable cargo glider. It is unpowered, has an empty weight of 261 kg (575 lb), a maximum launch weight of 488 kg (1,075 lb), and carries up to 227 kg (500 lb).
• Dragonfly: Development-program name used for the turbine-powered extended-range aircraft.
• Long-Range Grasshopper: Final product name for the powered variant. It retains the 227 kg (500 lb) payload while adding turbine propulsion and substantially greater standoff range.

Specifications (Long-Range Grasshopper)

The following published values are provided in DZYNE’s Grasshopper product data sheet.

General characteristics

• Type: Autonomous, expendable fixed-wing cargo aircraft
• Crew: Uncrewed
• Length: 4.06 m (160 in)
• Height: 1.52 m (60 in)
• Wingspan: 6.10 m (240 in)
• Nose width: 1.07 m (42 in)
• Empty weight: 295 kg (650 lb)
• Maximum launch weight: 771 kg (1,700 lb)
• Payload: 227 kg (500 lb)
• Powerplant: One turbine engine

Performance

• Release-to-target range: More than 926 km (500 nmi)