Engineering:Anduril Altius
Altius (Agile Launched, Tactically-Integrated Unmanned System)[1] is a series of fixed-wing, tube-launched unmanned aerial vehicles developed by Area-I, an Atlanta-based subsidiary of Anduril Industries acquired in April 2021. Altius 600 accepts a modular payload on the nose. It can be launched from different launchers and platforms, including C-130 aircraft, UH-60 Blackhawks, and various ground vehicles, as well as larger UAVs, including the MQ-1C Grey Eagle and Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie stealth UCAV.
Deployment
The Altius is a component of the U.S. Army's Air-Launched Effects (ALE). Swarms can operate in a mesh network.[2][3] The Altius is designed to be low-cost and expendable, but can be recovered mid-flight with Flying Air Recovery System (FLARES).[4] The loitering munition version of Altius has a range of 280 miles (450 km) and four hours flying time.[5]
In 2022 NOAA conducts the first successful launch of the Altius-600 into a hurricane, Hurricane Ian, which records winds up to 216 miles per hour (348 km/h).[6]
Hundreds of Altius UAVs were sent to Ukraine following the 2022 Russian invasion. According to Andruil, "they’ve proven effective against a large number of high-value enemy assets."[7] In 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine stopped using them due to their vulnerability to Russian jamming.[8]
Operators
References
- ↑ "Anduril". https://www.anduril.com/hardware/altius/.
- ↑ Parsons, Dan (22 April 2022). "Army To Test Its Biggest Interactive Drone Swarm Ever Over Utah" (in en). The Drive (The Drive). https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/army-to-test-its-biggest-interactive-drone-swarm-ever-over-utah.
- ↑ Roque, Ashley (29 September 2020). "Unmanned-Unmanned teaming: US Army demos Area-I's Altius-600 air-launched effects" (in en). Janes.com (Janes). https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/unmanned-unmanned-teaming-us-army-demos-area-is-altius-600-air-launched-effects.
- ↑ Reim, Garrett. "US Army catches 'air-launched effect' drones in mid-air using another UAV" (in en). https://www.flightglobal.com/military-uavs/us-army-catches-air-launched-effect-drones-in-mid-air-using-another-uav/140498.article.
- ↑ Kinder, Tabby (March 27, 2024). "How Silicon Valley's 'Oppenheimer' found lucrative trade in AI weapons". FT Magazine. https://www.ft.com/content/ce6f96f8-6ab8-4089-b7db-f99db22c2071.
- ↑ "Damaging 2022 Atlantic hurricane season draws to a close". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. November 29, 2022. https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/damaging-2022-atlantic-hurricane-season-draws-to-close.
- ↑ Jeans, David; Bryan-Low, Cassell; Mukherjee, Supantha (November 28, 2025). "US defense firm Anduril faces setbacks from drone crashes". https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-defense-firm-anduril-faces-setbacks-drone-crashes-2025-11-27/.
- ↑ Holliday, Shelby; Somerville, Heather; MacDonald, Alistair; Glazer, Emily (2025-11-27). "Exclusive | ‘We Do Fail … a Lot’: Defense Startup Anduril Hits Setbacks With Weapons Tech" (in en-US). Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. https://www.wsj.com/business/anduril-industries-defense-tech-problems-52b90cae.
- ↑ Kadidal, Akhil. "Taiwan acquires first batch of Altius-600M loitering munitions". Janes. https://www.janes.com/osint-insights/defence-news/defence/taiwan-acquires-first-batch-of-altius-600m-loitering-munitions.
- ↑ Lariosa, Aaron-Matthew. "Taiwan Defense Report Highlights Area Denial Progress". Naval News. https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2025/11/taiwan-defense-report-highlights-area-denial-progress/.
- ↑ Cox, Matthew. "Air Force Buying $50 Million in Small Drones to Support Special Ops Missions". Air and Space Forces Magazine. https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-anduril-altius-drones-afsoc-mq-9/.
- ↑ Safronov, Taras. "Anduril Shows Altius 600M in Action for the First Time in Ukraine". Militarnyi. https://militarnyi.com/en/news/anduril-shows-altius-600m-in-action-for-the-first-time-in-ukraine/.
 |  |
