Transporter gliders are coming back.

A rendering of a freighter plane pulling a cargo glider. (Aerolane) (Ttnews,Aerolane Seeks to Use Freighter Planes to Pull Cargo Gliders)

Large-sized gliders used in WWII to carry jeeps and cannons to airborne troops. Then those gliders disappeared. The new large-sized, wide-body cargo planes made those gliders unnecessary. And they left out the air. But the large-sized cargo gliders are making a comeback. Expensive gasoline makes those cargo planes a reasonable solution for decreasing costs in civil and military aviation. The glider that the cargo plane pulls behind it can decrease fuel use by over 60%. And those flying trucks are new tools for making new types of cargo systems. 

Gliders could also transport troops on the roofs of buildings. And they could carry things like equipment to the disaster areas. As well as. They could carry people and cargo to regular airfields. Those gliders can carry large structures through the air. And they can make a revolution for air cargo. Those gliders can be. The systems that are AI-controlled. So those systems don’t need pilots. 

But the fact is that. The aircraft can also pull jet fighters or cruise missiles behind it. Near the operational area, those fighters would be released. And that makes them operate. With more fuel. Then, if they would fly to that area by using their own engines. This technology has been tested in some parasitic jet fighter programs. The idea was that the escort fighters would travel under the wing, or be pulled by bombers. This would be the answer to the problem that those escort fighters had a far shorter combat radius than strategic bombers. 

“A German defense company has successfully tested an uncrewed cargo glider designed to support frontline military units, a technology that Tokyo is also exploring as it looks to bolster its capabilities in islands to the far southwest of the Japanese archipelago.” (SCMP, Can German stealth cargo gliders boost Japan’s remote island defence and logistics?) 

"Logistic Gliders Inc. tested a dozen prototype cargo gliders, deploying them from carrier aircraft and landing them in the desert. PHOTO: LOGISTIC GLIDERS INC." (IeeeSpectrum, Disposable Delivery Drones Undergo Successful Tests With U.S. Marines)

The Waco CG-4 Cargo glider was a typical cargo glider of World War II. (Wikipedia)

Shahed-131

MQ-9

The stealth cargo gliders can also act as weapons. The same system that carries cargo to a certain point. It, or its miniaturized version, could carry a warhead to a similar point. The aircraft could pull glide bombs behind them. 

Another thing that glider technology can give is the technology. There, one cruise missile pulls the other behind it. That could almost double the range of those weapons. 

The nuclear-powered drone. That uses. A Radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG). That system gives those drones an unlimited range. As a power source for the electric engine. This drone can pull another drone with a conventional engine behind it. Or the drone can pull things like cruise missiles behind it. This gives the missile. An extended operational radius. Things like Shahed-131-type. Drones can be equipped with RTG-driven electric engines. 

And they can pull another drone behind them. In some idea, RTG-powered MQ-9 Reaper-type drones are tools that can pull cruise missiles or Shader-131 drones behind them. Those systems can have a capacity for long-range operations. Those drones can have. The AI-based target recognition system. And the same seeker that is used in Hellfire missiles. 

https://www.aerolane.com/products

https://spectrum.ieee.org/disposable-delivery-drones-undergo-successful-tests-with-us-marines

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343528/can-german-stealth-cargo-gliders-boost-japans-remote-island-defence-and-logistics

https://www.ttnews.com/articles/aerolane-gliders-airfreight

https://www.twz.com/news-features/how-americas-shahed-136-clone-became-an-indispensible-weapon-of-war

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Atomics_MQ-9_Reaper

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahed_131

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_CG-4