9 months ago
Anduril Faces Setbacks with Drone Crashes
Anduril is a company that makes drones for the military.
They've sent many drones to Ukraine and Taiwan to help in battles.
But recently, some of their drones, like the Altius and Ghost, crashed during tests.
This happened in Florida and Germany.
Anduril says these crashes are part of learning and improving their drones.
They've also sold drones to the U.S. military and other countries.
Even though there have been some problems, Anduril is still growing and making new drones.
Anduril's Altius drones crashed during U.S. Air Force tests in Florida, with one nosediving 8,000 feet and another spiraling to the ground.
Anduril has sent hundreds of drones to Ukraine since 2022, but their impact has been limited, with 96% of drones used in Ukraine being locally made.
The Ghost drone program faced issues in Ukraine due to Russian electronic warfare, but an updated model, Ghost X, was deployed in December 2023.
Anduril's drones have also been delivered to Taiwan, and the company has a $50 million contract with the Pentagon for testing and training.
Despite setbacks, Anduril continues to develop new drones and has a valuation of $30.5 billion, with a focus on adapting to modern warfare.
- Who
- Anduril Industries, a U.S. defense tech company
- What
- Recent crashes of Altius and Ghost drones during tests
- Where
- Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; Ukraine; Taiwan; Germany
- When
- Early 2024, with ongoing testing and deployment
- Why
- Testing and battlefield readiness of drones
Key facts
- Company
- Anduril Industries
- Valuation
- Drone Models
- Altius, Ghost, Ghost X, Omen
- Recent Contract
- Ukraine Deployment
- Hundreds of drones sent since 2022
- Ukraine's Drone Usage
- 96% Ukrainian-made drones in 2024
- Taiwan Delivery
- First batch of drones delivered in August 2024
Quotes
Shannon Prior
Anduril spokesperson
“The incidents documented by Reuters are 'isolated examples' across hundreds of tests.”
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“We are constantly proving out new capabilities for all of our systems, pushing them to the limit so that we can learn, iterate, and improve our systems. Test failures are a natural – and intentional – part of that process.”
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Palmer Luckey
Founder of Anduril Industries
“Altius drones have 'taken out hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Russian targets.'”
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“We’re going to move fast, build what works and get it into the hands of the people who need it.”
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Major Geoffrey Carmichael
Spokesperson for the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division
“When units are experimenting with new technologies such as drones 'hard landings, system failures, and weather-related impacts can occur.'”
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“The drone 'demonstrated strong performance in cold, high-altitude, and hot-weather environments' but that units identified areas for improvement, 'particularly power management in extreme cold.'”
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Anduril Industries
Defense tech company
“Those failures, and the learning they afford, are an essential and unavoidable part of the development process.”
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“U.S. Army units had 'consistently praised' the reliability of Ghost X.”
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Mykhailo Fedorov
Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine
“Of one million drones deployed to the front lines that year, 96% were Ukrainian-made.”
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Unidentified person in video
Person in a video showing a Ghost model spinning out of control
“I told you this would be a clusterfuck.”
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