A new long-range loitering munition introduced by Anduril Industries last year successfully engaged all targets in its first end-to-end live fire test, the company said on Thursday.
The ALTIUS-700M, which is equipped with a penetrating warhead for attacks against armored targets and infrastructure, scored direct hits across six missions in the September 2023 test at Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah, Anduril said. The test included three inert 700M missions followed by three live flights.
The test was the first with a live warhead and “demonstrated flawless system performance,” accuracy, and effectiveness against six missions, the company said.
A video released by the company shows the loitering munition blowing up a mock SA-17 SAM system, which is a Russian Buk tracked medium-range surface-to-air missile system. The ALTIUS-700M has a 100-mile range, 75 minutes of flight time, and has a munition payload capacity of 33 pounds.
Anduril says that that the 700M is the “largest loitering munition on the market.”
Anduril last October introduced the 600M and 700M, which are both variants of their respective air, land, and sea-launched ALTIUS-600 and 700 small drones designed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, signals intelligence, communications relay, and other uses. The launch tube for the 700M is “slightly larger” than the 600M, the company said.
ALTIUS drones have been used in Ukraine, have conducted hurricane data collection, and have participated in tests, demonstrations, and exercises, Anduril said. The company has delivered hundreds of ALTIUS variants to U.S. government customers. The company said it has a customer for the 700M but cannot currently share details.
The drones feature the company’s collaborative autonomy capabilities that allow one user to control multiple systems at once. The ALTIUS family is also based open systems architecture, allowing integration with a range of payloads and mission software.
Anduril also said it has invested more than $60 million into a new 180,000 square foot production facility in Atlanta to expand ALTIUS production.