Anduril Bolt-M: a new kamikaze drone from the creators of Oculus Rift has a range of 20 km and EW protection, why is it better than FPV?
Anduril Industries has introduced Bolt, a family of autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones. In its basic configuration, this drone can perform missions related to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), as well as search and rescue (SAR). We are more interested in the Bolt-M modification, which is capable of carrying explosives weighing up to 3 lb (1.3 kg).
Technical capabilities of the Anduril Bolt-M
The Anduril Bolt-M is a high-tech tactical solution with autonomous navigation, object tracking capability and a flight time of over 40 minutes, which allows it to operate within a radius of up to 20 kilometres. This drone uses machine learning AI for the final stage of the mission, enabling it to engage moving targets and operate autonomously in the face of enemy electronic warfare. This provides a significant advantage over FPV drones, which require highly skilled pilots to successfully locate and engage targets, placing a significant cognitive burden on operators and requiring highly specialised training.
Modern ground forces require a large number of low-cost, lightweight, portable and reliable munitions that can deliver extremely high performance without requiring specialised operators.
The Bolt-M features waypoint navigation that can be changed on the control panel display, which also makes the drone easier to operate. Bolt-M also offers independent object tracking, where the operator can simply draw a bounding box around any target. This way, the kamikaze drone can follow even moving targets independently. The operator can determine the angle at which Bolt-M will attack the target. And the onboard computer vision systems will complete the work even if the radio connection with the remote control is lost. The video demonstrates that the Bolt-M can detonate a fragmentation munition over the target, which enhances its ability to engage vehicles and people.
The modular platform supports a variety of warheads, including those developed by Anduril and third-party manufacturers (e.g. Kraken Kinetics). Anduril's Lattice ecosystem allows the drone to share sensor data for integrated operations management. Bolt-M is easy to use with a deployment time of just 5 minutes.
About Anduril Industries
Anduril Industries is an American defence technology company founded in 2017. It was founded by former employees of Palantir and Oculus, includingPalmer Luckey, one of the creators of the Oculus Rift. Anduril specialises in developing high-tech solutions for defence and security.
The company uses artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, robotics and other innovative technologies to create surveillance systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and defence platforms. One of Anduril's main products is the Lattice system, which uses artificial intelligence to combine data from various sensors and provide a comprehensive picture of the situation in real time.
Anduril actively cooperates with US government agencies, including the Department of Defence and security services. The company positions itself as an innovator in defence technology, striving to make national security more effective with the help of modern technologies.
Source: Anduril