Overview
- The Ministry of Defence announced Friday a £10 million assessment phase and picked Anduril, BAE, Tekever and Thales to design drone wingmen for Apache helicopters.
- The drones will scout, jam and help cue strikes, operating on their own while feeding data to crews.
- All decisions to use weapons will be made by a human, in line with stated UK policy on lethal force.
- The MOD will review the designs and choose up to two for prototyping in Autumn 2026, with an operational goal set for 2030.
- Tekever confirmed its selection and said it will open a Bristol autonomy hub in June 2026 as part of a £400 million UK investment.