Protection tech startup Anduril Industries has confronted quite a few setbacks throughout testing of its autonomous weapons programs, in keeping with new reporting by the WSJ. The issues cited embody greater than a dozen drone boats that failed throughout a Navy train off California in Could, with sailors warning of security violations and potential lack of life; a mechanical concern that broken the engine of Anduril’s unmanned jet fighter Fury throughout a summer time floor take a look at; and an August take a look at of its Anvil counterdrone system that brought about a 22-acre fireplace in Oregon.

Based in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, Anduril raised $2.5 billion again in June at a $30.5 billion valuation led by Founders Fund, which assist incubate the corporate. The corporate has gained quite a few navy contracts, together with packages to construct autonomous plane and counter-drone programs.

Past testing failures, the Journal stories that Anduril’s solely actual battlefield expertise in Ukraine has additionally been problematic. Entrance-line troopers with Ukraine’s SBU safety service discovered that Altius loitering drones crashed and didn’t hit targets. The problems had been reportedly extreme sufficient that Ukrainian forces stopped utilizing the drones in 2024 and haven’t fielded them since, although Anduril maintains that its challenges are typical of weapons growth, that its engineering workforce is attaining significant progress, and that the aforementioned incidents don’t point out any underlying flaws in its know-how.