The V22 Osprey tilt-rotor hybrid helicopter is one of the mainstays of the US Marine Corps' air mobility today. Specialized in amphibious actions, the American Marine Corps chose, in the early 90s, the Bell and Boeing aircraft, to ensure its airborne assault missions, the high speed and carrying capacity of the V22 allowing the US Navy ships to operate further away from the beaches to maintain their safety. While assault ships have gained in security, the V22 has become a target of choice for enemy air defenses, especially for anti-aircraft guns, which are much more difficult to detect and eliminate than missile systems.
It is to overcome this risk that the Marines Corps launched the AFARS program[efn_note]Air-Launched Fast Autonomous Reconnaissance System[/efn-note], a 2 meter reconnaissance drone capable of being dropped from the rear of the V22, and capable of conducting route and area reconnaissance before the helicopter and its cargo venture there. The drone has a range of nearly 300 km, or 180 km while maintaining an autonomy of 10 minutes in the area, and can rise to an altitude of 25.000 feet. It can move 80 km away from the carrier device, while maintaining a data flow with it to transmit potential threats.
There is no mention of an in-flight recovery procedure for the drone, as is the case with DARPA's GREMLINS program. However, we can imagine, having a rotating wing, that the corps will seek, as far as possible, to recover its drones that have fallen to the ground.