Andruil unveils autonomous attack rotorcraft - could Thunder be the future of warfare as we know it?
- Anduril and Archer Aviation unveiled Thunder, an autonomous tiltrotor "loyal wingman" designed to fly alongside crewed attack helicopters
- The rotocraft can carry up to 10 air-to-ground missiles or 76 guided rockets while simultaneously being equipped with counter-drone technology
- Its first flight is targeted for 2027, but no price was disclosed, and no named customer was announced
Anduril opened the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow with the kind of reveal the event is increasingly built around: not a jet, but a robot.
The defense startup, in partnership with electric-aircraft maker Archer Aviation, pulled the wraps off Thunder, a Group 5 autonomous attack rotorcraft designed to fly alongside crewed attack helicopters like the Boeing AH-64 Apache and the US Army's upcoming Bell MV-75 Cheyenne II, or operate entirely on its own.
The Thunder aims to address the growing recognition that the modern battlefield is essentially a killing field for near-surface weaponry and personnel...
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