FIRST LOOK - Anduril reveal the Thunder tiltrotor CCA at Farnborough Airshow 2026

[00:00:00][music] >> Hello, I'm at the Farnborough Air Show 2026 and I've got a bit of exclusive here with this thing behind me. I'm here with Richard Drake, general manager for Anduril UK. Rich, what is this amazing beast we have behind us?

[00:00:20]>> Good morning. How are you?

[00:00:20]>> [music] >> This is Thunder.

[00:00:22]>> Thunder.

[00:00:23]>> This is It's exciting today because we're launching this as a worldwide launch of our Thunder autonomous hybrid [music] EVTOL or attack helicopter.

[00:00:31]>> Okay, so it's a hybrid tilt rotor designed for the military market and the the near surface fight, is that right?

[00:00:37]>> That's correct. Yeah, that's correct.

[00:00:39]The tilt rotor means with the hybrid EVTOL technology is that we can tune for we can tune [music] for for signature and we can get a great deal of range. So, this thing can self-deploy a long, long way. [music] >> And it's high-speed as well.

[00:00:51]>> Yeah, yeah, comparable to attack helicopters it may work within the fight.

[00:00:55]>> Okay, so it's designed to fly alongside something like an Apache attack helicopter and it's armed to the teeth as well. I mean, you've got internal weapon bays and you've got like a nose kind of weapons compartment as well.

[00:01:06]>> Yeah, that's correct. So, we've got internal weapon bays that deploy from the side and we have we have a nose bay as well for for for more weapons.

[00:01:14]>> Okay, so Hellfires, Javelins, APKWS.

[00:01:20]>> That's correct.

[00:01:20]>> Got that also factors so it can it can launch the kind of mini drones ahead of itself as well. [music] >> Yeah, it could launch our ALTIUS 600s and the premise here is that we can push [music] this further forward in the fight so the more expensive weapons like the Javelins are not necessarily required.

[00:01:35]>> Right, okay.

[00:01:35]>> Here we can push lethality. We can, you know, our CGS in in the British Army talks [music] about tripling lethality.

[00:01:41]We can do that with this very, very easily.

[00:01:43]>> And this this is developed so you're partnering with Archer who is doing the airframe and and they they [music] they hybrid electric propulsion. But, you guys are doing the mission system and the mission system is being done in in in UK, is that right?

[00:01:55]>> Yeah, the software the mission autonomy software has been done in the UK and some of the payloads.

[00:01:59]>> Yeah.

[00:01:59]>> But like I said, it's a worldwide launch as well. So, this is [music] all the best of Anduril in one place here.

[00:02:04]>> Okay, fantastic. You've got You've also got obviously a census, but also terrain following stuff on there as well.

[00:02:10]>> That's right. This thing will survive by staying as low as it can and going [music] as fast as it can and we're making sure that can happen.

[00:02:15]>> And and and and it links into your your your lattice autonomy kind of [music] operating system, you know, kind of defense Jarvis as some people might sort of say. Um but the idea would be to have them kind of hunting as a pack.

[00:02:29]>> That's correct. Yeah, working initially with an attack helicopter like an Apache and working as [music] a wing and sending them forward and they can work together and work individually or autonomously as a pack.

[00:02:39]>> Okay, and also there might be other uses for it as well. It might be multi-mission, cargo.

[00:02:45]>> Absolutely. [music] >> And a submarine?

[00:02:47]>> Anything we can fit in those pods, if we can work, we can make happen.

[00:02:51]I can see a time when maybe there are lightweight torpedoes.

[00:02:54]>> Yeah.

[00:02:54]>> And some >> [music] >> dropping sonar buoys. I can see a time for a search and rescue.

[00:02:58]>> Yeah.

[00:02:58]>> And our partners at Archer can also see commercial variants perhaps.

[00:03:02]>> Yeah, and and also because it's a tail rotor as well, it goes really fast.

[00:03:05]>> Oh, yeah. It goes very fast. Super exciting.

[00:03:08]>> Wow, well, I think this is one of the most exciting reveals we've had today at the air show. So, yeah, looking forward to hearing more about it and where it goes. Thank you very much.

[00:03:18]>> Cheers.

[00:03:19]>> [music] [music]