Thursday, October 3, 2019

Anduril Launches Anti-Drone Weapon, The Interceptor

Irvine-based Anduril, a new startup co-founded by controversial Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, announced on Thursday that it has launched a new, drone weapon--called the Interceptor--which is designed to "detect and interdict" unmanned aircraft or autonomous drone systems. The company revealed its technology, which uses another, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to ram and take down either rotary or fixed wing threats. The startup said the new product is aimed at counter-drone missions, for force protection for military personnel and installations or critical infrastructure. According to Bloomberg, Anduril now has around 130 employees, and is backed by $120M in funding from such investors as Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz, and has valuation of around $1 billion. Anduril's CEO is Brian Schimpf.