Anduril Industries has announced Barracuda-M, a new family of autonomous air vehicles (AAVs) designed to address a critical shortage in the U.S. military's missile arsenal. The unveiling comes as part of the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Enterprise Test Vehicle (ETV) effort, which seeks innovative solutions for rapidly producible, lower-cost precision-guided munitions.
The Barracuda-M addresses a critical concern within the U.S. defense community: the shortage of missiles capable of deterring or sustaining a conflict with near-peer adversaries like Russia and China.
Existing cruise missiles are complex, expensive, and produced in limited quantities due to specialized manufacturing processes and supply chain constraints. This limitation could leave the U.S. and its allies vulnerable in a prolonged high-end conflict.
Chris Brose, Anduril’s Chief Strategy Officer, highlighted the urgency of the situation: “America and our allies do not have enough weapons. Period, full stop. We are not capable of producing the volume of weapons that we’re going to need to establish deterrence against a peer competitor.”
Anduril aims to disrupt this paradigm by designing the Barracuda missiles for hyper-scale manufacturing. By simplifying the design and leveraging commercially available components, the company intends to make mass production feasible without relying on specialized labor or defense-specific supply chains. The company claims that Barracuda require 50% less time to produce, 95% fewer tools, and 50% fewer parts compared to existing solutions.
The Barracuda-M family consists of three variants—Barracuda-100M, Barracuda-250M, and Barracuda-500M—each tailored to different operational needs.
All Barracuda-M variants are powered by air-breathing turbojet engines, enabling speeds up to 500 knots. They are controlled by Anduril’s Lattice for Mission Autonomy software, which allows for advanced autonomous behaviors, including collaborative mission planning and real-time adaptability to evolving threats.
The Barracuda-500M was Anduril’s entry into the Pentagon’s DIU ETV program. The ETV initiative seeks to identify and field affordable, high-rate production munitions to address the U.S. military’s need for more stand-off weapons. By selecting the Barracuda-500M for this effort, the Pentagon acknowledges the potential of Anduril’s approach to mass-producing cruise missiles that can be rapidly deployed in large quantities.
Tim Grayson, Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, highlighted the importance of such initiatives: “If the manufacturing techniques we’re able to leverage pan out, we’ll be able to take advantage of a bigger part of the American industrial base to produce munitions for us.
Anduril’s approach represents a shift in defense manufacturing, leveraging commercial technology and practices to meet military needs. By tapping into non-traditional suppliers and commercial labor pools, the company aims to expand the defense industrial base and improve supply chain resilience.
Anduril Unveils Barracuda-MThis strategy aligns with recent Department of Defense initiatives to incorporate innovative solutions from the private sector. The Barracuda-M’s inclusion in the DIU’s ETV program underscores the Pentagon’s interest in rapidly fielding affordable munitions to maintain a strategic edge.
As geopolitical tensions rise and the nature of warfare evolves, innovations like Barracuda-M could play a crucial role in maintaining military deterrence and readiness. However, the ultimate impact of this technology will depend on its performance in real-world conditions and the ability of the U.S. military to integrate it effectively into its broader strategic framework.