Overview
- The companies showed the dual-use hybrid-electric tiltrotor at the Farnborough Airshow on Monday and named the defense variant Thunder.
- Thunder is built as a Group 5 autonomous attack rotorcraft meant to act as a 'loyal wingman' that teams with crewed helicopters to expand firepower and sensing without adding pilots.
- The aircraft uses dual tiltrotors, a series hybrid-electric powertrain, variable rotor speed to cut cruise fuel use and noise, and modular internal bays that can carry up to ten air-to-ground missiles or 76 70mm rockets in different loadouts.
- Anduril will run Thunder on its Lattice mission-autonomy software to manage formation behaviors, collision separation and sensor fusion so pilots task by intent rather than fly the aircraft directly.
- Anduril and Archer say multiple surrogate test flights are complete, they plan a first full-vehicle flight in 2027, and any production around 2029–2030 will depend on customer demand and further testing, a development that could reshape Army aviation tactics and procurement as lessons from Ukraine push more autonomy into rotorcraft operations.