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Anduril Industries has unveiled the latest variant of its Ghost drone series, the Ghost-X, designed for reconnaissance, security, and force protection.
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The variant was developed with feedback from over 1,000 Ghost flight hours from customers, including the UK Ministry of Defence, the company explained.
Flight performance on the Ghost-X has been enhanced with a 75-minute fly time, 9-kilogram payload capacity, and 25-kilometre operational range with a long-range communications kit.
The new Ghost variant also boasts a modular and multi-payload architecture, with electro-optic and infrared gimbals and a visual navigation – meaning that the drone can operate without relying on the Global Navigation Satellite System.
Earlier in September, Anduril announced it would acquire Blue Force Technologies.
The 7 September agreement will expand Anduril’s existing autonomous fleet to include large, high-performance group five aircraft and significantly increase Anduril’s reach and impact within the Department of Defense.
Blue Force is known for its extensive development of high-end composite aircraft and the Fury autonomous air vehicle over the last five years. The company has reportedly completed a flight test of the flight software on board a variable stability in-flight simulator test aircraft and a ground test for Fury’s novel carbon fibre composite propulsion flowpath system.
An Anduril spokesperson said the company is moving fast to engineer, prototype, develop, and produce new capabilities for the Department of Defense and promote fielding of autonomous and artificially intelligent systems as fast as possible.
“The US Air Force, US Navy, and US Marine Corps have all signalled their intention to modernise and adopt advanced autonomous capabilities. This ecosystem of autonomous systems must be powered by software that enables a single operator to control multiple assets to accomplish a wide range of missions.
“This acquisition follows Anduril’s successful launch of Lattice for Mission Autonomy earlier this year, the artificial intelligence-enabled software platform that enables teams of autonomous systems to dynamically collaborate to achieve complex missions, under human supervision.
“By investing in both hardware and software capabilities, Anduril will further accelerate the development of autonomous operations like manned-unmanned teaming and other critical advanced autonomous solutions for warfighters around the world.”
