Today, Anduril Industries, a prominent defense technology firm, has officially announced its acquisition of Blue Force Technologies, a company specializing in autonomous aircraft development and integrated aerostructures. This strategic move by Anduril will significantly expand its existing autonomous fleet, now incorporating large, high-performance Group 5 aircraft. Moreover, it will considerably enhance Anduril's influence within the Department of Defense. Unfortunately, specific terms of the transaction remain undisclosed.

Blue Force Technologies, situated in North Carolina, is renowned for its advanced composite aircraft and component manufacturing. The company has been diligently working on Fury, a Group 5 autonomous air vehicle with fighter-like capabilities since 2019. Fury sets itself apart through proprietary rapid prototyping, digital engineering, and an open architecture designed to deliver cutting-edge flight performance while offering flexibility for integrating various sensors and payloads for air dominance missions. Notably, the company recently achieved a successful flight test of the flight software aboard a VISTA (Variable Stability In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft) and conducted a ground test for Fury's innovative carbon fiber composite propulsion flowpath system.

Anduril is committed to substantial investments in furthering the development of the Fury autonomous air vehicle, expanding its manufacturing operations in North Carolina, and expediting the advancement of critical technologies crucial to future capabilities, particularly autonomous collaborative platforms. Operating as a nontraditional entity utilizing its own capital for research and development, Anduril is known for its agility in engineering, prototyping, developing, and producing new capabilities to benefit the Department of Defense.

These new capabilities are paramount for maintaining deterrence in an era marked by strategic competition. To project force, deter aggression, and regain cost-efficiency, the Department of Defense will increasingly rely on a plethora of smaller, more cost-effective, and highly autonomous systems. Notably, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine Corps have all expressed their intent to modernize and adopt advanced autonomous capabilities. This growing ecosystem of autonomous systems necessitates robust software that enables a single operator to manage multiple assets to execute a wide array of missions.

This acquisition comes on the heels of Anduril's successful launch of "Lattice for Mission Autonomy" earlier this year. This artificial intelligence-enabled software platform facilitates the dynamic collaboration of autonomous systems in achieving intricate missions while remaining under human supervision. By investing in both hardware and software capabilities, Anduril is poised to expedite the development of autonomous operations, including manned-unmanned teaming and other vital advanced autonomous solutions, catering to warfighters globally.

Anduril has firmly established itself as a leader in the development and deployment of integrated autonomous solutions across a diverse spectrum of sensors, effectors, and domains. With extensive experience automating the operations of numerous robotic systems deployed in tactical environments worldwide, Anduril is steadfast in its mission to support the Department of Defense and allied military services in swiftly fielding autonomous and artificially intelligent systems.

Source:prnewswire.com