Anduril Introduces Bolt and Bolt-M

Anduril is unveiling the Bolt family of man-packable, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) Autonomous Air Vehicles (AAVs) that delivers simple and flexible capability for a variety of missions. Bolt, the base configuration, is designed for man-packable ISR and search and rescue. Bolt-M, the munition variant of Bolt, is designed to arm any ground force with lethal precision firepower, leveraging onboard software to automate the flight behaviors required to accurately track and strike a target, while providing human operators with four simple decisions: where to look, what to follow, how to engage, and when to strike.

Modern conflicts have demonstrated how lightweight, man-portable tactical loitering munitions can provide asymmetric advantage to dismounted forces by leveraging readily-available commercial drone technology to reduce costs and increase production capacity. While effective, first-person view (FPV) drones require highly-skilled pilots to successfully find and strike targets, placing a significant cognitive burden on operators and creating a need for highly-specialized training. Modern ground forces need large numbers of low-cost, lightweight, man portable, and reliable loitering munitions that are capable of delivering outsized performance without requiring specialized operators.

That is precisely what Bolt-M delivers. Designed for ease of operation and rapid deployment in a man-portable package, Bolt-M offers autonomous waypoint navigation and target-agnostic object tracking, customizable standoff distances and engagement modalities, and more than 40 minutes of endurance and 20 kilometers of range to extend the reach of dismounted forces. And, with up to three pounds of munition payload capacity, Bolt-M delivers devastating effects against static or moving ground-based targets, including light vehicles, dismounted personnel, trenches, and more.

AI-enabled precision firepower

Powered and controlled by a tactical version of Anduril’s Lattice software platform, Bolt-M is equipped with advanced onboard AI/ML software to automate the flight behaviors required to find, track, and strike dynamic targets. With autonomous waypoint navigation that can be modified as needed through a simple touchscreen interface, Bolt-M allows operators to manage complex tasks rather than focusing on basic navigation.

Bolt-M is designed to provide operators with the flexibility required to adapt to rapidly-evolving battlefield conditions. Bolt-M offers target agnostic object tracking where an operator can draw a bounding box around any visual target for Bolt-M to follow, allowing warfighters to respond to new and previously-unseen threats in real time.

Once a target is identified in Lattice, an operator can specify a standoff position for Bolt-M to maintain, tasking the system to stalk the target from beyond visual or acoustic detection range even as the target moves and is occluded. When it’s time to strike, an operator can define the engagement angle to ensure the most effective strike, while onboard vision and guidance algorithms maintain terminal guidance even if connectivity is lost with the operator.

As a software-defined capability, the Bolt family of systems both benefits from and contributes to the broader ecosystem of capabilities integrated through Lattice, sharing sensor, targeting, and other data across Anduril and third-party platforms to provide commanders with a comprehensive picture of the battlespace and take action accordingly.

Operator-friendly

The Bolt family of systems is purpose-built for safety, reliability, and ease of operation, enabling warfighters to focus on the mission at hand. Bolt M’s mountable ground control station (GCS) is optimized for usability and packs training and simulation, weapons systems integration, mission planning, and mission execution into a simple and familiar handheld interface.

An inherently modular platform, Bolt-M is compatible with a range of Anduril and third-party warheads, including munition payloads designed in collaboration with Kraken Kinetics. Bolt-M’s simple payload interface allows operators to swap across anti-personnel and anti-materiel warheads based on changing battlefield requirements, while tool-less battery swapping means that batteries can be quickly replaced for rapid redeployment.

Usability also means safety. With physical and software safety features including an electronic safe and arm device (ESAD), operators can safely and reliably disarm the munition for safe transport, return to base, and redeployment.

Strike anytime, anywhere

The Bolt family of systems’ lightweight and small form factor means that any dismounted operator can easily add Bolt or Bolt-M to their equipment loadout. When needed, Bolt-M can be unpacked and airborne in under five minutes, providing warfighters with on-demand precision firepower at a moment’s notice.

Bolt is designed to operate in any environment: as a VTOL AAV, Bolt does not require any dedicated launch equipment and can be easily launched in congested environments. With an onboard camera that allows the operator to toggle between EO and IR camera modes, Bolt can stalk targets at extended ranges in both day and nighttime operations.

The Bolt family of systems is the latest example of how Anduril is transforming U.S. and allies defense capabilities with software and hardware. From Ghost-X to Altius and beyond, Anduril continues to rapidly develop, iterate on, and deliver the expeditionary capabilities that warfighters need on timelines that are relevant to the fight.

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