WSJ: Anduril’s weapons systems have failed during several tests
Autonomous drones by sea, land, and air. Futuristic AI-powered support fighter jets, and swarms of networked drones controlled by sophisticated software. These are some of the visions for the future of warfare pitched by defense tech startup Anduril. Cofounded by Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, the Peter Thiel-backed startup has landed some major national security contracts based on this futuristic outlook for battlefield AI.
But according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the company’s tech is failing key tests in the real world, raising concerns about the viability and safety of Anduril’s systems within the military command.
Anduril’s Altius drones proved vulnerable to Russian jamming while deployed in Ukraine and have been pulled from the battlefield, per the report.
More than a dozen sea-based drone ships powered by Anduril’s Lattice command and control software recently shut down during a Navy test, creating a hazard for other vessels in the exercise.
And this summer, during a drone intercept test, Anduril’s counter-drone system crashed and caused a 22-acre fire at a California airport, the report found.
Anduril told the WSJ that the failures are just part of its rapid iterative development process:
“We recognize that our highly iterative model of technology development — moving fast, testing constantly, failing often, refining our work, and doing it all over again — can make the job of our critics easier. That is a risk we accept. We do fail… a lot.”
But according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the company’s tech is failing key tests in the real world, raising concerns about the viability and safety of Anduril’s systems within the military command.
Anduril’s Altius drones proved vulnerable to Russian jamming while deployed in Ukraine and have been pulled from the battlefield, per the report.
More than a dozen sea-based drone ships powered by Anduril’s Lattice command and control software recently shut down during a Navy test, creating a hazard for other vessels in the exercise.
And this summer, during a drone intercept test, Anduril’s counter-drone system crashed and caused a 22-acre fire at a California airport, the report found.
Anduril told the WSJ that the failures are just part of its rapid iterative development process:
“We recognize that our highly iterative model of technology development — moving fast, testing constantly, failing often, refining our work, and doing it all over again — can make the job of our critics easier. That is a risk we accept. We do fail… a lot.”
