Anduril Industries says its new cruise missiles can be mass produced twice as fast for 30% less than other missiles.
The defense startup just introduced its new Barracuda autonomous aerial vehicles intended for rapid manufacturing at scale. They’re hyperscaling the missiles with simpler designs, fewer parts, modular construction, and advanced inhouse software.
The designs feature 50% fewer parts. The assembly is highly automated, requiring 95% fewer tools to build.
The Barracuda-M family has three models:
- The Barracuda-100 is lightweight and launchable from the ground and air. It’s meant for quick, short missions.
- The midsized model, the Barracuda-250, fits in the weapons bay of fighter jets. It balances range, speed, and payload capacity.
- The Barracuda 500 has a range exceeding 500 nautical miles, reaching targets over 926 kilometers away.
In an interview with Bloomberg Technology, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey highlighted that war games show the US running out of critical munitions within days of a conflict with expansionist dictatorships like China.
Anduril’s core product, Lattice, powers the Barracuda. The AI-powered platform integrates all steps of the production process – design, development, testing, and manufacturing.
The set up allows for autonomous operations without relying on real-time communication links that can be jammed by adversaries.
Anduril plans to build a new factory named Arsenal-1 to make weapons and military systems faster and in larger quantities. A location hasn’t been disclosed yet, but plans call for over 5 million square feet and thousands of workers.
The factory will make many types of military systems, like drones and missiles, using simple designs and parts that are easy to get.
Anduril is aiming for tens of thousands of military systems per year, far exceeding traditional defense manufacturing companies. The factory will also build new types of unmanned aircraft for the Air Force that work with manned planes to improve air combat abilities.
The US government is pushing defense companies to deploy similar tactics to accelerate military system development. Traditional defense companies use older systems that are slow to change. Anduril uses digital engineering to quickly update its products for new threats.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the U.S. lags behind Russia and China in hypersonic weapons because of its lack of agility. Despite billions spent, the Pentagon hasn’t fielded any hypersonic weapons, which fly more than five times the speed of sound.
The Navy’s struggles with timely shipbuilding are also well noted. Navy ships take years longer to deliver compared to commercial projects, complicating planning and budgeting. While commercial ships get delayed too, the length and cost overruns are multiple times longer and pricier with the Navy.
Last year, the Department of Defense enacted its 5000.97 instruction, requiring new military system programs to use digital engineering methods to accelerate delivery.