Hermeus picks Anduril autonomy for Quarterhorse drone
In an exclusive interview with Breaking Defense, executives from both firms described a mutually beneficial arrangement.
In an exclusive interview with Breaking Defense, executives from both firms described a mutually beneficial arrangement.
The effort awards $127 million to Palantir and $65 million to Anduril.
Pending regulatory approval, the sales of drone maker Insitu, air traffic management firm SkyGrid and electric aircraft maker Wisk Aero are expected to close by the end of the year.
A separate competition to replace the MQ-9A Reaper is expected to kick off a concept refinement stage early in the next fiscal year, according to an Air Force official.
BETA’s MV250 will use a hybrid-electric propulsion system developed in partnership with GE Aerospace and an autonomy stack supplied by Sikorsky for a wide range of military missions, according to company executives.
Embraer and Anduril signed an MOU on the Barracuda missile, though no timeline for a first test was available.
A selection of photos from the first day of the Farnborough International Airshow.
The company describes Thunder as a fully autonomous armed reconnaissance tiltrotor aircraft developed from lessons learned from the company’s Fury aircraft.
“It wasn’t just an AMRAAM that came off,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach told Breaking Defense. “It was tracking the target.”
Invitees to the closely held, publicly unannounced meeting included Anduril, Castelion and Leidos, sources said.
The company had been prototyping the “full stack” with 4th Infantry Division over the last year.
Anduril, Shield AI and Collins have been tapped to develop the autonomy system for the collaborative combat aircraft.
The potential FMS announcement came just days Iran attacked Kuwait’s airport with missiles and drones, killing one person, damaging airport facilities and halting flights.
Anduril joins the US subsidiary of Israeli company Elbit along with OshKosh Defense for the team’s offering for the highly anticipated competition.