Anduril has built its reputation on a futuristic vision of warfare: autonomous drones on land, sea, and air, AI-powered support jets, and swarms of networked systems controlled by high-end software. Cofounded by Palmer Luckey and backed by Peter Thiel, the defense startup has secured major national security contracts based on that ambitious vision.
A new Wall Street Journal investigation reports that several of Anduril’s most important systems are failing real-world tests and creating new concerns inside the military. The WSJ says Anduril’s Altius drones struggled against Russian jamming while deployed in Ukraine and were pulled from the battlefield. The report also says more than a dozen sea-based drone vessels running on Anduril’s Lattice software suddenly shut down during a Navy exercise, creating hazards for other ships. And during a summer test designed to intercept another drone, Anduril’s counter-drone system malfunctioned and caused a 22-acre fire at a California airport.
Anduril told the WSJ that these incidents are part of its rapid, iterative development process. The company said that moving fast, testing constantly, failing often, and refining the product is simply how it builds modern defense systems. In Anduril’s words: “We do fail… a lot.”