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Anduril launches helicopter strike drone

Unveiling of ‘Thunder’ comes as militaries increase autonomous systems in their arsenal

A full-size replica of Anduril's "Thunder" helicopter drone with two large illuminated rotors is displayed against a dark background.The aim of the Thunder drone is to fly alongside and in front of attack helicopters to reduce their vulnerability© Anduril

Sylvia Pfeifer in Farnborough

PublishedJuly 20 2026

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US defence group Anduril is branching into helicopter strike drones that will be able to penetrate deep behind enemy lines while protecting the manned aircraft, as recent conflicts have raised risks for helicopters.

Anduril unveiled a full-size replica of the drone, dubbed Thunder, on the opening day of the Farnborough Airshow on Monday. The hybrid-electric aircraft will be able to lift off vertically like a helicopter before transitioning to fly like a conventional fixed-wing aircraft, providing a range of thousands of nautical miles and allowing it to fly deep into enemy territory.

Anduril developed the system together with US air-taxi start-up Archer Aviation. UK company GKN Aerospace is also a partner. Archer on Monday said it planned to field a commercial variant and would announce its first customers later this week.

Anduril said recent conflicts, in particular Ukraine, had underlined the vulnerability of attack helicopters operating in low-altitude airspace and the risks posed to their crews by the proliferation of drones.

“Man-portable air defence systems, large ammunition and cheap air defence really all pose risk to an attack helicopter,” said Rich Drake, general manager of Anduril UK, adding that as a result the helicopters often “sit on the flight line unused due to the risk”.

For each attack helicopter such as an Apache, the plan would be to have three to six Thunders flying missions alongside or out in front. The “realities of the modern battlefield demand additional combat mass capable of delivering more effects across a wider area,” added Drake.

The partnership with Archer, including the hybrid-electric propulsion system, had helped to reduce the cost of the system so that it can be deployed at scale on the battlefield, according to Shane Arnott, senior vice-president of programmes and engineering at Anduril.

“The intent is that this is a small fraction of the cost of an Apache which it needs to be in order to buy them at scale,” added Arnott. The plan is to fly a system next year.

Each Thunder will be capable of carrying up to 10 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, as well as kamikaze drones or rockets.

The proliferation of drones in land warfare has spurred militaries to find ways to protect existing manned fleets.

Anduril is among four companies selected by the UK Ministry of Defence as part of a programme called Project Nyx to develop drones to fly alongside fleets of Apache helicopters. The US company is competing with Britain’s BAE Systems, the UK division of France’s Thales and Tekever, the drone start-up.

The MoD is expected to announce a winner later in the autumn. The hope is that the first system will be in service by 2030. A similar project is being developed for the Royal Navy’s Wildcat attack helicopters.

Anduril declined to comment on the Nyx competition but said it could build the drones in the UK and use it as an export base. Any final decision would depend on which government planned to launch a programme first, it said, adding that it was also engaged in other competitions that were not yet public.

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